Mango Glossary

An accession is a separately identified sample or collection unit maintained in a germplasm collection. A mango accession number helps track a particular introduction or source, which may be a cultivar, a breeding selection, or other material. It is not automatically the same as a commercial variety name, and several accessions can share a name while having different histories. Preserve the number and provenance together when using collection records to investigate identity, performance, or breeding relationships.

GRIN stands for Germplasm Resources Information Network, the USDA information system supporting documentation of genetic resources. Plant records can include accession identifiers, taxonomy, collection history, and evaluation information relevant to mango research. It is a reference and collection-management resource, not a guarantee that every cultivar claim found elsewhere is correct or that plant material is available to every requester. Distinguish a documented accession from a commercial nursery name when investigating the identity or history of a mango.

Mangifera indica is the scientific name of the cultivated mango, a species in the Anacardiaceae family. The genus contains other species, so not every plant called a wild mango is necessarily the same species as ordinary cultivated mangoes. Scientific naming helps separate species identity from cultivar names such as a named selection within the crop. For a collector, recording both the botanical name and the cultivar or accession source makes a plant record more informative than using a common name alone.