Even though the Valencia orange was named for the city of Valencia in Spain, where there are lots of orange trees and a lot of citrus fruit grown, it was created in the US.  A citrus farmer created the Valencia hybrid in California.  The orange became so popular that the company who bought the orange from the original grower spent half of their resources just growing Valencia oranges.

  Eventually the citrus farmers in California stopped having a lot of success growing the Valencia orange and the growth of these oranges moved to Florida, the citrus capital of the US.  Florida and some areas of Texas are now the biggest citrus fruit producing areas in the US and grow a huge percentage of the oranges, grapefruits, Clementines and other citrus fruits eaten in the US every year.

Valencia oranges are the most well known type of orange, and nearly everyone has had a Valencia orange at some point in their lives. Valencia oranges are very sweet, and have a distinctive bright colored juice that other citrus fruits don't have.  As a result of the unique color of the juice many bottled orange juices are made from Valencia oranges because people love the bright color of the juice from these oranges. Here are some other interesting facts about the most popular orange in the world:

Valencia oranges are the only type of orange available in the summer - It's true! Because of the type of climate that the Valencia needs to grow it is only grown and harvested from March through July each year.  When you eat fresh oranges in the summer you are probably eating Valencia oranges.

You can tell Valencia oranges by the seeds - Valencia oranges have anywhere from one to six seeds per fruit.  If you are eating an orange that is seedless then it's probably a naval orange, or it may not be an orange at all. It might be a tangerine, a Honeybell or a Clementine.

Valencia oranges account for half of the Florida citrus crop - Most people associate Florida citrus with grapefruits and naval oranges, which are very popular fruits. But a full half of the citrus fruit grown in the Florida citrus groves is made up of Valencia oranges each year.  Despite the fact that the oranges are only available for a short time their bright color and sweet taste make them one of the most popular oranges in the world.