Orange named Florida's state fruit

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., May 5 (UPI) -- After 160 years of statehood, Florida has finally given the orange its due by naming it the state fruit.

Florida has a long list of official state items such as the state beverage, which is orange juice, and the state flower, which is the orange blossom, the Orlando Sentinel reported Thursday.

But the fruit itself was forgotten until Wednesday when the Legislature approved a proclamation naming the orange.

The bill was approved by the House 117-0 in Tallahassee to the cheers of a fourth-grade class from Sarasota, Fla., which began the campaign.

"We have been transporting oranges in Florida since they founded St. Augustine, when they used ox carts to get them to market," said Rep. Donna Clarke, R-Sarasota, who sponsored the bill. "When you mention orange, everyone thinks of Florida."

The fruit was brought to Florida by the Spanish in the 1500s and the state is the second largest orange producer in the world.