The Parent Washington Navel Orange Tree is a tree grown by

Eliza Tibbets Eliza Tibbets (born Eliza Maria Lovell; 1823–1898) was among early American settlers and founders of Riverside, California; she was an activist in Washington, D.C., for progressive social causes, including freedmen's rights and universal suffra ...

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

, in 1873. The

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Unit ...

tree was designated a

California Historic Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in the U.S. state of California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meetin ...

(No.20) on June 1, 1932, at the corner of Magnolia and Arlington Avenues, Riverside. The Bahia, Brazil, Washington

navel orange The navel orange is a variety of orange with a characteristic second fruit at the apex, which protrudes slightly like a human navel. This variety first was caused by a mutation in an orange tree, and first appeared in the early 19th century at a ...

was brought to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

by the

U.S. Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an executive department of the United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commercial farming and livestock food production, promotes agricultural trade and production ...

in 1870. The Department of Agriculture imported twelve trees; from these trees, some buds were

grafted Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The succ ...

on to California

sweet orange The orange, also called sweet orange to distinguish it from the bitter orange (''Citrus × aurantium''), is the fruit of a tree in the family Rutaceae. Botanically, this is the hybrid ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'', between the pomelo (''Citrus ...

trees. The Washington Navel Orange is also called California Navel Orange. The navel orange is a

mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, ...

of regular sweet orange. This mutated orange was discovered in a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

orchard in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

in 1820. In 1870 a cutting from the navel orange was sent to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, thus was called the Washington navel orange. The name "navel orange" is from the mutation at the bottom blossom end of the orange. The bottom of the orange has a depression which looks like a human

belly button The navel (clinically known as the umbilicus; : umbilici or umbilicuses; also known as the belly button or tummy button) is a protruding, flat, or hollowed area on the abdomen at the attachment site of the umbilical cord. Structure The u ...

. The mutation gives the navel orange no seeds. The Washington navel oranges were shipped all over the United States. As oranges cannot withstand freezing weather, the climate of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

is good for the Californian citrus industry and the navel orange. In April 2018, a white cloth was draped over the tree to prevent it from being infected by

citrus greening disease Citrus greening disease ( abbr. HLB) is a disease of citrus caused by a vector-transmitted pathogen. The causative agents are motile bacteria, '' Liberibacter'' spp. The disease is transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid, '' Diaphorina citri'', ...

. The cloth was replaced with a 22' tall x 25' x 25' tent with an insect screen in June 2019. Maintenance is the joint responsibility of

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

and the City of Riverside Parks Department. A 1940's era navel orange tree and grapefruit tree were also removed in April 2019 after they were found to not have significant historic value.

Marker

A historical marker (see image), inscribed in 1920, on the Riverside, California site reads: *''To Honor Mrs. Eliza Tibbetts, and to commend her good work in planting the first Washington Navel Orange trees in California. Native to Bahia, Brazil, proved the most valuable fruit introduction yet made by the United States Department of Agriculture.'' The California Historical Landmarks Guidebook's summary on this marker notes:californiahistoricallandmarks.com 20, Parent Washington Navel Orange Tree – Riverside
/ref> *''NO. 20 PARENT WASHINGTON NAVEL ORANGE TREE – The tree was introduced into the United States from Bahia, Brazil, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1870. Twelve young trees were received and buds from them were propagated on sweet orange seedlings. In 1873 two of these greenhouse-grown trees, which were distributed throughout the United States, were sent to Mrs. Eliza Tibbets in Riverside.''

References

History of Riverside, California Landmarks in Riverside, California California Historical Landmarks 1873 establishments in California Individual trees in California Citrus industry in California Economic history of California Individual citrus trees {{Greater Los Angeles Area

Marker

See also

References