Biology · The Living World · NEET
The family of mango is Anacardiaceae. A family is a group of related genera. Anacardiaceae is the cashew family, so mango, cashew, and pistachio are all cousins in the same family. NEET often gives you the family name Anacardiaceae and asks which rank it is — the answer is always Family.
The order of mango is Sapindales. An order is a group of related families. So Sapindales contains Anacardiaceae (and other families too). Remember: order sits just above family in the ladder. Family Anacardiaceae to Order Sapindales.
Mango is a plant, so its correct rank is Division, not Phylum. Plants use 'Division' and animals use 'Phylum' for the same level. Mango's division is Angiospermae (flowering plants). Some exam papers loosely write 'Phylum' for plants, but the correct botanical term is Division. Watch for this trap.
Mango belongs to the class Dicotyledonae (also written Dicotyledoneae). A dicot is a plant whose seed has two seed leaves (cotyledons). Mango seeds have two cotyledons, so it is a dicot. Class Dicotyledonae sits below the division Angiospermae.
From lowest to highest: Species = indica, Genus = Mangifera, Family = Anacardiaceae, Order = Sapindales, Class = Dicotyledonae, Division = Angiospermae, Kingdom = Plantae. NEET loves match-the-column questions using exactly these terms, so learn the pairs, not just the order.
In taxonomy, botanists (plant scientists) chose the word 'Division' while zoologists (animal scientists) chose 'Phylum' for the same rank. Both mean the same level between Class and Kingdom. Since mango is a plant, we say Division Angiospermae. This is a very common NEET trap where the wrong option swaps these two words.
Match List-I with List-II: List-I: A. Family, B. Genus, C. Class, D. Phylum, E. Order List-II: I. Sapindales, II. Dicotyledonae, III. Anacardiaceae, IV. Angiospermae, V. Mangifera Choose the correct answer:
Select the correctly written scientific name of Mango which was first described by Carolus Linnaeus:
Try the real previous-year questions from this chapter — each with the answer and a full solution.
The scientific name of mango is Mangifera indica. Mangifera is the genus and indica is the specific epithet. It was first described by Linnaeus, so it is fully written as Mangifera indica Linn.
The genus of mango is Mangifera. The genus is the first word in the scientific name and always starts with a capital letter.
Mango belongs to Kingdom Plantae because it is a green plant that makes its own food by photosynthesis.
Class Dicotyledonae is the smaller, lower group (plants with two cotyledons). Division Angiospermae is the bigger, higher group (all flowering plants). The division sits above the class.
NEET repeatedly asks match-the-column and sequence questions using mango's exact ranks (Anacardiaceae, Sapindales, Dicotyledonae, Angiospermae). Knowing each rank name and its level helps you score these direct 4-mark questions quickly.
