orange

All citrus trees are of the single genus Citrus, and remain largely interbreedable; that is, there is only one "superspecies" which includes lemons, limes and oranges. Nevertheless, names have been given to the various members of the citrus family, oranges often being referred to as Citrus sinensis and Citrus aurantium. All members of the genus Citrus are considered berries because they have many seeds, are fleshy, soft and derive from a single ovary. The Persian orange, grown widely in southern Europe after its introduction to Italy in the 11th c., was bitter. Sweet oranges were brought to Europe in the 15th c. from India by Portuguese traders, quickly displaced the bitter, and are now the most common variety of orange cultivated. The sweet orange will grow to different sizes and colors according to local conditions, most commonly with ten carpels, or segments, inside. Portuguese, Spanish, Arab, and Dutch sailors planted citrus trees along trade routes to prevent scurvy. On his second voyage in 1493, Christopher Columbus brought the seeds of oranges, lemons and citrons to Haiti and the Caribbean. They were introduced in Florida (along with lemons) in 1513 by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon, and were introduced to Hawaii in 1792. Sectioned navel orange. The underdeveloped twin is located on the bottom right.A single mutation in 1820 in an orchard of sweet oranges planted at a monastery in Brazil led to the navel orange, also known as the Washington, Riverside or Bahia navel. A single cutting of the original was then transplanted to Riverside, California in 1870, creating a new market worldwide. The mutation causes a 'twin' fruit, with a smaller orange embedded in the outer fruit opposite the stem. From the outside, the smaller, undeveloped twin leaves a formation at the top of the fruit, looking similar to the human navel. Navel oranges are almost always seedless, and tend to be larger than other sweet oranges. They are produced without pollination, through parthenocarpy. The Valencia or Murcia orange is one of the sweet oranges used for juice extraction. It is a late-season fruit, and therefore a popular variety when the navel oranges are out of season. For this reason and to be one of the venues of the 1982 FIFA World Cup the orange was chosen to be the official mascot called "Naranjito" ("little orange") wearing the colours of the Spain soccer team uniform. The blood orange has streaks of red in the fruit, and the juice is often a dark burgundy color. The mandarin orange is similar, but smaller and sweeter, and the scarlet navel is a variety with the same diploid mutation as the navel orange. MyGen Profile Generator