Fun Facts
1.
An orange tree can grow to reach 30 feet and live for over a hundred years.
2.
Because Navel Oranges are seedless, they can’t reproduce through pollination and require "budding" or grafting to create new trees.
3.
A single citrus plant can bear as many as 60,000 flowers, but only 1% of those flowers will turn into fruit.
4.
The Washington Navel Orange tree that helped start the California citrus industry is still standing and producing fruit in Riverside, California.
5.
Navel oranges get their name from the belly-button formation opposite the stem end.
6.
Valencia oranges are the most widely planted variety of orange worldwide!
7.
Clementines are seedless unless bees pollinate the trees.
8.
Pummelos are the largest of all citrus fruit.
9.
The Chinese believe that eating Pummelos brings good luck, so they are popular during the Chinese New Year.
10.
Grapefruits got their name because they grow in clusters, like grapes.
11.
The Romans used lemons to keep moths from eating their clothing.
12.
People used to believe that lemons would counteract poison. Today, we know that lemons just taste great.
13.
In all its travels, the lemon became known for its usefulness as a cure for scurvy (a disease caused by a lack of Vitamin C), which was common among sailors, soldiers and pirates as well as miners during the California Gold Rush.
14.
In Victorian times, the wealthy built greenhouses called orangeries where they grew lemons and exotic fruits. Because of the great wealth required to construct and maintain them, these orangeries were viewed as status symbols.
15.
The time period establishing the California citrus industry is known as the "other" California Gold Rush.