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Made possible in part by a grant from THE DR. P. PHILLIPS FOUNDATION

FLORIDA CITRUS: CULTIVATING AN INDUSTRY

Throughout the ages, the fruit of citrus trees has been a symbol of eternal love, happiness, and even holiness. The Japanese believed citrus blossoms represented chastity, while the Saracens believed it was a symbol of fruitfulness. Kings and queens built entire indoor gardens around citrus; Arab women used its essence to color gray hair; and Nostradamus wrote about how to use its blossoms and fruit to make cosmetics. Hercules so valued it, he stole the golden fruit from Hesperides, who protected it as the primary food of the ancient Roman and Greek gods.

But nowhere on earth, or perhaps even the heavens, has the "golden fruit" held more importance than in Florida, where citrus growing and processing has become a multi-billion dollar industry.

Citrus trees are not native to Florida. The first citrus was brought to the New World in 1493 by Christopher Columbus. The early Spanish explorers, probably Ponce de Leon, planted the first orange trees around St. Augustine, Florida, sometime between 1513 and 1565. Grapefruit was a relative late-comer, arriving in Florida in 1806 courtesy of the French Count, Odet Philippe, who planted the first grove of grapefruit near Tampa, Florida, in 1823.

By the 19th century, citrus trees could be found growing wild throughout many of Florida's forests, and cultivated orange groves could be found along the St. John's River and around Tampa.

Florida's unique sandy soil and subtropical climate have proven to be ideal for growing the seeds that early settlers planted. However, it took nearly 400 years before enough citrus was grown in the state to turn it into a profitable business venture.

Soon after the Civil War, Florida's annual commercial citrus production totaled one million boxes.

Here is where A CITRUS LEGACY begins............A Citrus Legacy: Offers the Central Florida viewer a glimpse of the human experience. It will tell of the life and times of people who, from the beginning, only wanted to establish a daily subsistence, but later fashioned an industry that helped shape the economic legacy of the state of Florida.

The program revolves around the lives of these early pioneers, the Ropers, Carusos, Battaglias, of course the Phillips family and the famous Dr. P. Phillips and samples from the lives of thousands of families to weave a tapestry of the Central Florida Citrus grower.

This 60 minute program is airing on PBS this fall on WMFE, Funded by a grant from the DR. P. PHILLPS FOUNDATION. We hope you enjoy your stay on our web site, choose a link, explore some of the photo and label archives, collect a citrus recipe, check out our citrus calendar of events or play a game. It's harvest season..explore citrus and stay curious!