Orange

Article By:

Soost, R. K. Department of Plant Science, University of California, Riverside, California.

Whiteside, Jack O. Agricultural Research and Education Center, Lake Alfred, Florida.

Last reviewed:January 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.474200

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• Orange, published June 2014:Download PDF Get Adobe Acrobat Reader

Any of various evergreen trees of the genus Citrus, cultivated for its edible fruit. Orange trees (genus Citrus) belong to the family Rutaceae of the order Sapindales. The various trees classified as orange trees are most notable for producing fruits—also called oranges—that are typically orange in color when ripe. The orange fruit, in fact, is a type of berry and has an aromatic, leathery rind containing numerous oil glands. The sweet orange (C. sinensis; Fig. 1) is the most widely used species of citrus fruit; commercially, it is the most important. The sour or bitter oranges, of lesser importance, are distinct from sweet oranges and are classified as a separate species (C. aurantium). Citrus fruits belonging to other species are also sometimes called oranges. See also: Evergreen plants; Fruit; Fruit, tree; Sapindales

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