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On an episode of Qi there was a 'fact' that claimed oranges aren't actually orange they are green and they lose their green colour in transport and become orange.

Now I was indeed skeptical about this, surely they are just green when they are unripe, like a lot of fruits and I'm pretty sure I have seen pictures of orange trees with orange oranges on them.

Any thoughts?

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    Please provide a sample of the claim. This sounds like a simple misunderstanding.
    – Sklivvz
    Jan 13, 2014 at 16:46
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    The claim is here and it's quite different: telegraph.co.uk/men/the-filter/qi/8345477/…
    – Sklivvz
    Jan 13, 2014 at 16:49
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    Here's an example of the claim on the QI forums. And a similar claim (that provides an answer) on io9.
    – Ladadadada
    Jan 13, 2014 at 16:50
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    @Sklivvz look in general ignorance section comedy.co.uk/guide/tv/qi/episodes/8/3
    – EagerMike
    Jan 13, 2014 at 16:57
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    I've never said anything like that. The claim was about changing colors in transport, now it's about supermarket coloring them. In the meanwhile the edit made the only answer off topic.
    – Sklivvz
    Jan 13, 2014 at 17:11

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No, that's wrong.

Oranges are/can be orange in their trees, as they get mature.

Sources: http://www.ba.ars.usda.gov/hb66/100orange.pdf

Peel color at maturity ranges from light to deep orange but may remain green under warm conditions

One research analysis how the water ammount can change the fruit color: http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/files/datastore/234-2628.pdf

"Our research suggests that late-season water stress may produce a fruit with less green and more orange color earlier in the season when even a few days difference in harvest timing can mean a large price differential in fruit value."

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  • So it seems that it is possible for them to be green, depending on temperature and maturity.
    – EagerMike
    Jan 13, 2014 at 16:54
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    but certainely not enough to start calling them greens
    – EagerMike
    Jan 13, 2014 at 16:54
  • @jammycoder for what I could understand, they can be green, not that they are always, all, green...
    – woliveirajr
    Jan 13, 2014 at 16:56

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