Short answers, pulled from the story.
The scientific name of the sweet orange is Citrus sinensis. This hybrid emerged in the region spanning Southern China, Northeast India, and Myanmar with its earliest recorded mention appearing in Chinese literature in 314 BC.
The sweet orange remained unknown in Europe until the late 15th century when Italian and Portuguese merchants brought the trees to the Mediterranean. By 1646 the fruit had become a symbol of immense wealth with wealthy Europeans constructing private conservatories known as orangeries to protect the trees from the cold.
The industry transformed after the California Gold Rush of 1849 when miners demanded oranges for their high vitamin C content to prevent scurvy. A pivotal moment arrived in 1873 when the U.S. Department of Agriculture distributed navel orange plants from Brazil to Luther and Eliza Tibbets in Riverside.
The first recorded use of orange as a color name in English appeared in 1512. The fruit's cultural footprint extends far beyond its name appearing in the earliest Chinese literature in 314 BC and in Western art as early as the Arnolfini Portrait by Jan van Eyck.
The fruit is composed of 87 percent water and 12 percent carbohydrates providing 59 percent of the Daily Value for vitamin C in a standard serving. The specific flavor profile is dictated by the ratio of sugars to acids with pH levels ranging from 2.9 to 4.0.
Citrus greening disease was discovered in Florida in 1998. The disease has attacked nearly all trees in the state causing trees to live only five to eight years and produce deformed unsavory fruit.