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==Welcome to __The Humble Orange__ wiki! Our wiki is based on oranges and we answer many questions about the orange in great detail. This wiki gives you the information of the history of the orange, how the orange aids the human body and the environment, where oranges are grown, the effect of pollution on the orange, and the basic question what is an orange. We hope our wiki is helpful to you and that you learn something new about the simple orange.==



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==Orange is the common name for the fruit of the Citrus gene in the Rutaceae family. The orange is a type of berry, has seeds, and is covered in a thick, leathery skin. Orange trees are evergreens and exceed thirty feet. The trees also have glossy, oval leaves and white, fragrant flowers. The oil from the orange, carcus, leaves, branches, and flowers are used as a flavoring agent or a perfume. The two types of oranges are the sweet orange or sour orange. Some types of the sweet are the common orange, blood orange, and navel orange. A type of the common orange is the Valencia orange and it is the main source for orange juice. The navel orange is less sweet than the common orange and is seedless. It also has a small second fruit growing on one end of it. Lastly, the skin and fruit of the blood orange ranges from pink to red, but basically tastes the same as the common orange. Three types of the sour orange are the Seville, bergamont, and mandarine (or tangerine). The bergamont is primarily used as an oil for cosmetics and as a flavoring. The mandarin or tangerine is slightly flat in shape and has easily peeled skin. The mandarin is also the parent of hybrid oranges, such as the Clementine. A fact about the Seville orange is that it is rarely eaten raw because of its bitter taste. Finally, Florida's state flower is the orange blossom.==



United States-
==Oranges are grown in Florida, Arizona, California, and Texas. The U.S. grew 18% of the total orange production and Florida produced three-fourths of that number and forty per cent of the orange juice supply. The orange crops also vary from the different cliates. For example, in dry Texas, the oranges ar thin-skinned and have a yellowish hue. In the cooler, more humid California, the oranges have a very thick peel and bright orange color.==

India-
==Sweet oranges are native to Norheastern India. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, about 60% of the oranges produced in India are consumed by the local people. The other 40% are shipped to larger markets. There is no official system of growing oranges in India, so the harvests are very small. Also, a lot of the fruit produced is wasted because there is no where to sell the crop.==

Brazil-
==Brazil produces produces the most amount of oranges at more than one-third of the total crop. The University of Florida even reported that 45% of the world's orange juice total comes from the Sao Paulo area in Brazil. But 20% of the orange crop is consumed by the locals, as well. That is bad because it decreases the amount of oranges that can be put on the market. About 25% of the orange juice consumed in America is produced in Brazil, too. An interesting fact is that Brazil grows the most oranges in the world, but the production per acre is almost half as much as Florida.==

China-
==China grows a huge amount of oranges, coming in at fourth in the world. China's production of oranges continues to increase as well, along with the country's consumption of the fruit. The consumption rate affects the orange market because it makes the export of oranges decrease. Some of the oranges are made into juice too, but most are consumed by the local people.==

Mexico-
==Mexico produces 6% of the world's orange crop and 2.7 million tons a year. Mexico is also the fourth largest orange juice producer in the world. Production in Mexico is rather small because of the local growers that mainly sell within Mexico. Traditionally, fresh oranges are brought home and then made into juice, but now bcause of increased incomes, prepared juice is being bought.==

Argentina, Pakistan, Belize, Cuba, and Costa Rica-
==Local farmers grow a lot of citrus fruit, including oranges for the local people. Cuba's orange crop has increased considerably, despite the embargo with the U.S. Belize and Costa Rica are decreasing their costs and are also trying to expand. Those countries and small growers are trying tomedia type="custom" key="12104885" align="right"expand at this moment because of the adjustments the larger copanies are making. All of the countries are developing citrus-producers, too.==



==There is a long, rich history of the orange. Sir Francis Carew had the first orange trees in Britain in 1658. To get through the winter, he put stoves around the trees. It was called an orangery, or a special-built house with a tiled floor and huge south-facing glass windows where oranges were grown. Parties were often held in the orangeries because of the strong, citrus smell, as well.==

Orange trees originated in India, seven thousand years ago, with some in the south east of the country and possibly the island of Ceylo. Smaller varieties originated in Bangladesh, as well.
==
 * ==The sour orange was introduced to the Meditteranean region by the Arabs about the tenth century. The sweet orange was introduced by Genoese traders in the fifteenth century.==
 * ==By the beginning of the first millenium, the Chinese grew oranges. They were particularly popular with the nobility.==
 * ==The first oranges planted in the west was in North Africa in the first century A.D.==
 * ==Oranges were introduced to Florida in 1513 by the Caribbean explorer Juan Ponce de Leon.==
 * ==Blood oranges were introduced to Sicily in the fifteenth Century==
 * ==In Brazil in 1820, the mutated navel orange was invented==
 * ==The Persian orange has been cultivated in Europe since the eleventh Century==
 * ==In 1493, Christopher Columbus transported orange seeds to the Caribbean and Haiti==
 * ==The fruit was introduced to Hawaii in 1792 [[image:Tree_shakes.gif align="center"]]

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==The orange fruit produces many benefits for the human body and for the environment we live in. Firstly, the orange tree produces oxygen for the world. Secondly, it provides nectar and food for insects and birds. Thirdly, during the growing season it provides protection for wildflowers, grasses, and saplings. Finally, orange trees create cover that helps soil hold water. For the human body oranges provide a great source of vitamin C. The orange can also ease headaches, calm heart palpitations, lower fevers, strengthen your immune system, and wards off infections.==



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==Pollution not only effects humans and plants it effects oranges too. Pollution causes leaf discoloration, damaged roots, weakened trees, tree death, and damages the soil that the orange grows in. Pollution decreases the trees ability to use sunlight to eat and takes away the soil of it's nutrients. Most pollutants that cause damage to the tree are industrial waste and car emissions.Many pollutants are airborne such as fluorides, oxidants, and sulfur dioxide. Due to the burning of coal and oil to produce electricity the fossil fuels are hurting the trees development. Pollution causes trees to have less resistance to insects and diseases. Ozone built up near the ground interferes with the trees ability to use photosynthesis. Finally, acid rain robs soil of nutrients, hindering growth of trees, causes leaf damage, damages roots, and in result will kill the tree.==






 * ==World production of oranges totals about fifty-eight million metric tons and about twenty per cent of the orange crop is sold as whole fruit. The rest of the crop is made into juice, extracts, and preserves.==
 * ==Oranges and their juice can be converted into electricity.==

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 * ==The orange crop is a nine billion dollar industry==
 * ==Mandarin oranges originated in China, where they were named after the officials of the imperial court==
 * ==Mandarins are the same as Tangerines==
 * ==Poem:==

//orange fruit and a hot day.//

 * ==Sewage sludge can grow orange trees instead of manure==
 * ==Orange blossoms are synonimous with spring in many parts of the world==
 * ==Almost all oranges have eleven segments, covered by a removable, dimpled peel==
 * ==The navel orange got its name because of the small 'twin orange' at one end of the fruit that looks like a belly button==
 * ==Orange blossoms are commonly used in weddings, but by cutting off the blossoms it stops the fruit from growing==
 * ==Oranges prvent scurvy because of their high quantity of Vitamin C==



==Thank you for visiting the humble orange website. On this website we hope you learned many new things about the orange that you never had known before. Not only is the orange the basic fruit everybody knows and loves it can aid you and the environment. We hope that our website was useful and solved the questions that you had. Stop by again soon!==