The Mother Orange Tree is the oldest living

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

tree in Northern California. The

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

is located at 400 Glen Drive in

Oroville, California Oroville (''Oro'', Spanish for "Gold" and ''Ville'', French for "town") is the county seat of Butte County, California, United States. The population of the city was 15,506 at the 2010 census, up from 13,004 in the 2000 census. Following the ...

History

Originally planted in Bidwell's Bar near the

Bidwell Bar Bridge The Bidwell Bar Bridge, in Oroville, California, refers to two suspension bridges that cross different parts of Lake Oroville. The original Bidwell Bar Bridge was the first steel suspension bridge in California. The $35,000, original was complete ...

, the tree is a Mediterranean sweet orange ''Citrus × sinensis''

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

. The

citrus rootstock Citrus rootstock are plants used as rootstock for citrus plants. A rootstock plant must be compatible for scion grafting, and resistant to common threats, such as drought, frost, and common citrus diseases. Principal rootstocks Five types of rootst ...

was brought from

Mazatlán Mazatlán () is a city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. The city serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding '' municipio'', known as the Mazatlán Municipality. It is located at on the Pacific coast, across from the southernmost tip ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, on a shipping vessel. The two-year-old orange tree, which was a novelty in Northern California at the time, was purchased in 1856 by Judge Joseph Lewis in the city of

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

and planted at the western approach to the bridge. The planting of the tree was done by Alfred Clarke, with the help of his foreman, Howard Burt. As the years passed and the tree flourished, growing to a height of over 60 feet (18 m), it was a favorite attraction of miners. They would sample its fruit and save seeds to plant in the dooryards of their cabins. On average, it yielded about 600 pounds (273 kg) of oranges that ripened between February and May each year.

Transplanting

The tree has been transplanted twice: once in 1862 to avoid flooding of the Feather River; and a second time in 1964 during the construction of

Oroville Dam Oroville Dam is an earthfill embankment dam on the Feather River east of the city of Oroville, California, in the Sierra Nevada foothills east of the Sacramento Valley. At 770 feet (235 m) high, it is the tallest dam in the U.S. and ser ...

when it was moved to the California State Park Headquarters in Oroville. James Edward Huse, a crane operator with Bigge construction was chosen to move the Mother Orange in 1964 due to his ancestors’ involvement in transporting the tree originally. The tree's survival proved that the

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is native to ...

industry could thrive in the colder climate of Northern California, encouraging many people to grow oranges in the area around Oroville, although the vast majority produced in the region are of the

navel orange An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae (see list of plants known as orange); it primarily refers to ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'', which is also called sweet orange, to distinguish it from the related ''Citrus × ...

variety instead.

Recent events

In 1998, a severe frost struck and the tree stopped bearing fruit for a number of years. As a result of the frost, decay

fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from t ...

entered the trunk and hollowed it out. To ensure preservation of the tree, propagation experts at the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

successfully cloned the tree in 2003 and three clones were brought to Oroville for planting. The tree has since resumed fruit production. The

commemorative plaque for the bridge may be found near the tree.

References

*Ek, Richard
Old Mother Orange
''Chico News and Review'', May 1, 2003 {{citrus Oranges (fruit) Citrus Individual trees in California Agriculture in California History of California History of agriculture in the United States History of the American West Oroville, California History of Butte County, California Farm museums in California Tourist attractions in Butte County, California 1856 establishments in California

History

Transplanting

Recent events

See also

References