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The origin of oranges (and lemons) is high in the Himalayas

By Katie LanginFeb. 9, 2018 , 12:05 PM

Citrus fruits are prized crops around the globe, but 8 million years ago you could find them in only one place: the foothills of the Himalayas, BBC News reports. From there, they diversified and spread, first across southeast Asia and next to Australia, where they underwent another spurt of diversification 4 million years ago.

This ancient history was pieced together by scientists who analyzed genomic data from 60 different varieties to create a citrus family tree. The findings, reported in Nature, could help plant breeders develop new kinds of citrus fruits.