Citrus Fun Page

Citrus

Did you know that Citrus:

• grew in asia 20 million years ago.
• in 2400 BC citrus was first mentioned in literature
• was thought very valuable for its golden color
• first varieties of citrus were bitter and not edible
• each person in the U.S. eats about 12.5lb (5.6kilo) of citrus per year!!!
• is the most widely grown crop in the world
• Brazil produces the largest amount of oranges and grapefruits in the world
• in Florida there are approximately 10.3 million trees on 853,000 acres of land!
• there is more fiber in an orange than in most other fruits and veggies
• Florida oranges may be greener than California oranges because the night temperatures in Florida are warmer which causes more chlorophyll to migrate into the peel, they are still ripe and sweet though.
• British sailors used to be called "Limeys" because they ate citrus to prevent scurvy on long sea voyages
• if you plant a single seed from an orange you will probably get more than one plant growing from it.
• immature growth on most citrus trees will have sharp thorns, these tend to break off as the wood gets older