World of CitrusWashington Navel Orange
In 1870, twelve budded Bahia navel trees were received from Bahia, Brazil, by William Saunders at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C. Saunders established them under glass and propagated additional plants for distribution.
Received the Bahia navel material from Brazil in 1870, propagated it at the USDA in Washington, D.C., and distributed trees for trial in the United States.
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The Citrus Industry dates Washington navel's introduction at Riverside to 1873 and its first fruiting there to 1878. UC ANR separately recounts Saunders sending two plants to Eliza Tibbets in 1873. UCR reports a March 1874 planting account; these sources describe distinct milestones and do not establish one uncontested arrival or planting date.
UCR’s historical account describes the Tibbets planting and its role in the Washington Navel name; UC ANR separately recounts a 1873 dispatch of two plants to Eliza Tibbets. UCR’s March 1874 planting account is a distinct report, so this credit does not establish the exact planting date.
UCR’s historical account identifies Tibbets among those who received trees from Washington; UC ANR separately recounts that Saunders sent two plants to Eliza Tibbets in 1873. UCR’s March 1874 planting account is distinct, and the exact planting date is not resolved here.
UCR reports that fruit from the Riverside navel lineage received first prize at a Riverside citrus fair in 1879. It credits Thomas W. Cover as an early propagator. The source does not call this the first Riverside citrus fair or state that the prize caused a quantified rise in budwood demand.
Credited with early propagation of the Washington Navel from the Riverside lineage as commercial interest in the cultivar expanded.
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The parent Washington navel accession maintained by the Riverside citrus collection was established in 1918 from budwood taken from another Washington Navel tree at Riverside. The accession is maintained as CRC 1241B / PI 539560 / VI 376.
The Citrus Experiment Station incorporated the Parent Washington navel propagation into its genebank as CRC 1241B (PI 539560) in 1918. This describes institutional accession incorporation, not an identified individual who collected the budwood.
Historical accounts place the Bahia orange later known as Washington Navel in Bahia, Brazil. Dorsett, Shamel, and Popenoe proposed a Selecta limb sport, with probable propagation around 1810–1820; a 1967 description also offers Portuguese Umbigo as an earlier alternative. The original tree, parentage, and mutation date remain unknown.
Sources: [1]
UCR attributes the Washington Navel name becoming attached to the Tibbets planting at Riverside. The reviewed account does not establish who selected the name or when; earlier Bahia Navel or Riverside Navel usage and later naming explanations are not confirmed here.
Sources: [1]