There are no reports of sweet oranges occurring in the wild. In general, it is believed that sweet orange trees have originated in Southeast Asia, northeastern India, or southern China
In Europe, citrus fruits among them the bitter orange, introduced to Italy by the crusaders in the 11th century . It also was considered a luxury item and wealthy people grew oranges in private conservatories, called orangery. By 1646, the sweet orange was well known throughout Europe.