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Navel Orange
Navel
Appears in
Published 2010
Some sources claim that the navel orange made its way to the United States via Brazil from China; others claim that a single mutation of the sweet orange occurred in Brazil alone. What is clear, however, is that the fruit was introduced to Florida in 1835 and that its popularity subsequently exploded. The original Californian tree, planted in 1870, was still bearing fruit in Riverside, California, in 11911.
The naval orange is both seedless and easily peeled, making it a well-loved fruit to be eaten out of hand. Due to a chemical reaction that occurs when its cells are ruptured, the navel orange is not particularly suited for juicing. Not surprisingly, the navel orange takes its name from the navel-like depression where an underdeveloped second orange will be found. As a sterile cultivar, the navel is a tricky crop to grow, requiring grafting (the process of fusing one cultivar to another) for its propagation.