17³Ô¹ÏÔÚÏß

The orange (specifically, the sweet orange) is the fruit of the citrus species Citrus sinensis in the family Rutaceae. The fruit of the Citrus sinensis is called sweet orange to distinguish it from that of the Citrus aurantium, the bitter orange. The orange is a hybrid, possibly between pomelo (Citrus maxima) and mandarin (Citrus reticulata), cultivated since ancient times. Probably originating in Southeast Asia, oranges were already cultivated in China as far back as 2500 BC. Arabo-phone peoples popularized sour citrus and oranges in Europe; Spaniards introduced the sweet orange to the American continent in the mid-1500s. Orange trees are widely grown in tropical and subtropical climates for their sweet fruit, which can be eaten fresh or processed to obtain juice, and for the fragrant peel] They have been the most cultivated tree fruit in the world since 1987 and sweet oranges account for approximately 70% of the citrus production] In 2010, 68.3 million tonnes of oranges were grown worldwide, particularly in Brazil and in the US states of California and Florida.