Ataulfo mangoes , often called Honey or Champagne mangoes , go to the speciesMangifera indica , within the Anacardiaceae fellowship , sharing lineage with Anacardium occidentale and pistachio tree . This tropical evergreen plant species , native to South Asia , has been selectively bred into numerous cultivar , with Ataulfo emerge as a standout for its petite size of it and creamy grain . Its botanic etymon wed it to the vast mango kin , known for fleshy stone fruits .
The Ataulfo mango herald from Chiapas , Mexico , where it was developed in the 1940s by Ataulfo Morales Gordillo , a cultivator who discovered this unique line on his land . in all likelihood a natural hybrid of Manila mangoes introduced by Spanish dealer centuries to begin with , it was polish through grafting and selective cultivation . By the fifties , it gained local acclaim , and its commercial rise took off in the nineties as exports to the U.S. and Canada surged . Today , Mexico prevail its production , with the Ataulfo earning a Denomination of Origin status in 2003 , cement its ethnical and agrarian signification .
Ataulfo mangoes are small , typically 6–12 ounces , with an oblong , slightly flattened shape and a thin , edible tegument that ripen from green to a rich golden - yellow . The flesh is a magnificent yellow - orange , silky - fluid , and near fiber - free , surrounding a flimsy , flat pit that maximizes comestible yield . Their taste is exceptionally honeyed — honey - like , as the moniker suggests — with a buttery fullness and faint citrous fruit undertones . Lacking tartness , they offer a hard , tropic decadence that ’s less assertive than larger varieties but profoundly satisfying .
Ataulfo Mangifera indica deliver a stocky nutritional package . A individual fruit ( about 150 grams ) provides roughly 90–100 calorie , with high-pitched vitamin C for immune funding and skin wellness , and vitamin A for seeing . They offer 2–3 Hans C. J. Gram of fiber for digestion , plus atomic number 19 and magnesium for muscle and heart function . Antioxidants like polyphenols and beta - carotene scrap lighting , while enzyme aid digestion . Their smaller size makes part control condition easy , though the skin ’s urushiol can irritate some , a queerness of their Anacardiaceae kin .
Ataulfo mango trees flourish in USDA Hardiness Zones 10–11 , requiring frost - destitute , tropic weather with temperatures above 40 ° F ( 4 ° C ) and ideally 70–95 ° F ( 21–35 ° C ) . They need full sun and a climate mirroring Mexico’s — dry winters for unfolding , humid summer for fruiting . In the U.S. , they ’re spring up in South Florida , Southern California , and Hawaii , though they ’re less hardy than some cultivar . frigid - sensitive , they ’re often school in greenhouses or as pot plants outside these zone .
