The orange tree probably originated in Southeast Asia. Columbus and other European travelers brought sweet orange seed and seedlings with them to the New World and by 1820 there were groves in St Augustine, Florida.

Florida is still the number one citrus producer in the United States, producing 70 percentt of the U.S. crop, with 90 percent  of that going into juice. However, Arizona, Texas, and California also produce oranges, with variations in color and peel.

Varieties of orange include the sweet orange, the sour orange, and the mandarin orange, or tangerine.

The principal varieties of the sweet orange in the eastern United States are the Hamlin and Parson Brown. Both eastern and western growers also cultivate the Valencia, a late variety that is commercially seedless. Fresh oranges from California and Arizona are available throughout the year, with two major varieties, Navels and Valencias. The Navel orange is a seedless orange, with medium-thick rind.

The color of an orange depends on the climate. Florida's warm days and nights produce oranges with some green in the skin coloring. California and Arizona oranges tend to have deeper orange color due to cooler desert nights.