The hybrid pomelo, possibly a BC1 pomelo backcross, was most likely the mother plant of the first orange because its chloroplast DNA is similar to that of pomelo.

The bitter orange, which arose independently, possibly in the wild, from a cross between pure mandarin and pomelo parents, is not the same as the sweet orange.

The orange was introduced to the Iberian Peninsula by the Moors in Europe, where it was known as Al-Andalus. Large-scale cultivation began in the 10th century, as evidenced by intricate irrigation methods designed specifically to support orange orchards.

The bitter orange, among other citrus fruits, was brought to Sicily in the 9th century by the Emirate of Sicily. The sweet orange, on the other hand, was unknown until Italian and Portuguese merchants brought orange trees to the Mediterranean region in the late 15th or early 16th centuries.

Orange trees in solid silver tubs were planted in pots all over the palace at Versailles, and the Orangerie allowed the fruit to be grown all year to supply the court. Over 1,000 orange trees from Nicolas Fouquet’s estate at Vaux-le-Vicomte were among the treasures confiscated by Louis in 1664 when he sentenced him to death as his finance minister.