ORANGE

any of several species of small trees or shrubs of the genus Citrus of the family Rutaceae and their nearly round fruits, which have leathery and oily rinds and edible, juicy inner flesh. The species of orange most important commercially are the China orange, also called the sweet, or common, orange; the mandarin orange, some varieties of which are called tangerines (q.v.); and the sour, or Seville, orange, which is less extensively grown. Other varieties include the Jaffa, from Israel; the Maltese, or blood, orange; and the navel, which is usually seedless. The tree of the sweet orange often reaches 6 m (20 feet) and sometimes 10 m. The broad, glossy, evergreen leaves are medium-sized and ovate; the petioles (leafstalks) have narrow wings. Its flowers are very fragrant. The usual shape of the sweet-orange fruit is round and the colour of its pulp orange, but there are variations. The mandarin, for example, is distinctly flattened, and the blood orange has red pulp. The pulp of the sweet orange is agreeably acidulous and sweet, the peel comparatively smooth, and the oil glands convex. Prior to 1920 the orange was mainly considered a dessert fruit. The spread of orange-juice drinking, in contrast with eating of the fresh fruit, significantly increased the per capita consumption of oranges. Also important was the growing appreciation of the dietary value of citrus fruits; oranges are rich in vitamin C and also provide some vitamin A. The most important product made from oranges in the United States is frozen concentrated juice, which accounts for nearly 40 percent of the crop. Essential oils, pectin, candied peel, and orange marmalade are among the important by-products. Sour, or Seville, oranges are raised especially for making marmalade. Stock feed is made from the waste material left from processing. Oranges are believed native to the tropical regions of Asia, especially the Malay Archipelago; along with other citrus species, they have been cultivated from remote ages. Orange culture probably spread from its native habitat to India and the east coast of Africa and from there to the eastern Mediterranean region. The Roman conquests, the development of Arab trade routes, and the expansion of Islam contributed significantly to this dispersal. By the time Christopher Columbus sailed, orange trees were common in the Canary Islands. Today oranges are cultivated in subtropical and tropical America, northern and eastern Mediterranean countries, Australia, and South Africa. Oranges thrive best where the trees are chilled somewhat by occasional light frosts in winter. The trees are semidormant at that season, and temperatures just below freezing will not harm trees or fruit unless frost occurs early, before the trees have finished their annual growth. In the coldest cultivation areas, the orchards may be heated with smudge pots or smokeless natural-gas burners. The orange thrives in a wide range of soil conditions, from extremely sandy soils to rather heavy clay loams; it grows especially well in intermediate types of soil. Orange orchards are generally planted in relatively deep soil where drainage is good. The orange trees are usually budded on stocks grown from the seed of selected trees. The seeds are sown in well-prepared soil in a lath house; after about 12 months' growth there, the seedlings are removed to a nursery. After about 1216 months in the nursery, the trees are usually large enough to bud. When the budded tops are one to two years old, the trees are large enough to plant in the orchard. The culture of intercrops such as beans, tomatoes, or melons among immature orange trees is common. The growth of cover crops makes use of seasonal rainfall for production of organic matter to be incorporated into the soil. In many areas where oranges are grown, it is necessary to supplement the rainfall with irrigation; this is generally the practice in Texas, California, Israel, Spain, Morocco, and parts of South Africa. Orange trees bear abundantly from 50 to 80 years or even more, and some old orange trees whose age must be reckoned by centuries still produce crops. Oranges are picked when fully ripe, for, unlike some deciduous fruits, they do not ripen or improve in quality after being picked. The sweet and mandarin oranges are the principal species produced commercially in the following countries, listed in order of importance: Brazil, the United States, China, Spain, Mexico, Italy, India, and Egypt. The chief orange-growing states in the United States are Florida, California, Texas, and Arizona, in that order. The world production of all kinds of oranges is approximately 70,000,000 metric tons annually. city, seat (1852) of Orange county, southeastern Texas, U.S. It lies at the Louisiana state line. Orange is a deepwater port on the Sabine River, which has been canalized to connect with the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. With Beaumont and Port Arthur it forms the Golden Triangle industrial complex. Settled in 1836 as Green's Bluff, it was known as Madison in 1852 but was renamed (1856) either for the orange groves along the river or for Orange, N.J. An early rice, lumber, and shipbuilding centre, it boomed during World War I when shipyard construction became a major industry. After World War II the U.S. Navy maintained a naval station and mothball fleet there. Orange is located in a major natural-gas and oil-field area. Its key industries include steel fabrication and shipbuilding and the manufacture of petrochemicals, synthetic rubber, paper products, and cement. A branch (1969) of Lamar University is in the city. Inc. 1881. Pop. (1990) 19,370; (1994 est.) 19,901. also called City of Orange township, Essex county, northeastern New Jersey, U.S. It lies just west of Newark. Named Mountain Plantations when it was settled in 1678, it was later renamed to honour William, prince of Orange, who became William III of Great Britain. Orange was a part of Newark until 1806, when it became a separate community. In the early 1800s the discovery of mineral springs in what is now West Orange brought about an influx of hotels and tourism. East Orange and West Orange separated from Orange in 1863, and South Orange was created in 1869; these municipalities, along with Maplewood, now constitute a suburban community called The Oranges. They are mainly residential suburbs of New York City and Newark, the first commuters having arrived with the completion of a railroad in 1838. With the Industrial Revolution, Orange became a manufacturing centre for shoes and hats, since replaced by petroleum products, tools, electrical equipment, business machines, and printing products. Inc. town, 1860; city, 1872. Pop. (1990) 29,925; (1996 est.) 28,877. town (township), New Haven county, southwestern Connecticut, U.S., west of New Haven on the Housatonic River. Originally a part of Milford colony (on land bought from the Paugusset Indians and settled in 1639), it was known as North Milford. In 1822 the latter joined with part of New Haven to be incorporated as the town of Orange, named for William III, prince of Orange. In 1921 West Haven seceded from Orange to become a separate town. Development has been mainly residential with some diversified manufacturing. Area 17 square miles (45 square km). Pop. (1990) 12,830; (1996 est.) 12,477.