Since the middle of the 19th century states such as Florida began to adopt their own official state symbols. A state symbol can come in the form of state animals, mammals, a state bird and flower, fruits, vegetables, insects, amphibians, nicknames, state seals, and much more.
State symbols were adopted by states to best represent them and their historical roots, and past and present successes. Like all other states, there are many Florida state symbols that have been adopted and recognized over the years.
What is the State Fruit of Florida?
The official Florida state fruit is the orange. Florida’s official state fruit is pretty young compared to most Florida state symbols, with it only being adopted in 2005. The adoption took place thanks to the perseverance of a school teacher named Janet Shapiro and her students at Southside Elementary School, who looked at the current Florida state symbols and saw the orange blossom as the state flower, and orange juice as the state beverage, but no state fruit. This was when they began taking action, directly contacting Florida’s legislature.
The Sunshine State has an incredibly impressive economy, and this has been helped tremendously by the citrus production within Florida. The state produces one of the largest amount of citrus fruit sold around the United States, with 42% of all citrus coming from Florida in 2020, with the majority being oranges, producing an outstanding 67.3 million boxes.
Oranges are a symbol of luxury, growth, and health, which is closely related to Florida as a state and the people of Florida both past and present. Back in the early 20th century, promotors from Florida would sell 10-acre lots to farmers with the intention of producing oranges. If you look further back, it was the early Spanish settlers that brought citrus fruits such as oranges to the United States, which has in return, made them a key part of Florida’s agriculture today.
Most states will have their symbols showcase a relevant story, that is indicative of the state and its history, and the Sunshine State puts its history and what it stands for across very well in the Florida state Fruit. This interesting fact about Florida and a whole host of others are what makes the state so unique and fascinating to those that live there or are researching the historical events of the state.
