Fontainebleau and Oranges

Here's a shot of the (rather grand) entry stairs at The Palace of Fontainebleau, one of the great Royal Châteaux of France.  Far to the right, you'll notice a wee tree.  

Truly French, the trees are oranges (Citrus) in Versailles planters.  French châteaux almost always have oranges to be found, the most famous appear at the l'orangerie de Versailles.  Orangeries were popularized first in Italy during the renaissance and soon after in France, the Netherlands and England.  They became possible only after the invention of large panels of clear glass, which of course allowed light to travel indoors and keep such plants alive. 

Fontainbleau itself has a unique connection to the history of orangeries and Versailles.  When André Le Nôtre had completed design and construction administration of Louis XIV's grand palace, the orange trees that previously inhabited the Fontainebleau orangerie were moved to Versailles.

Legend has it that one of the oranges sent to Versailles in 1686 had existed since 1499, when the Queen of Navarre sent Queen Anne of Bretagne a gift of orange cuttings.  The tree was grown first in the Chateau of Chantelles, then moved to Fontainebleau.  It was called 'The Grand Bourbon.' The tree was mentioned years later, in 1857, in Armand de Quatrefages de Breau's, The Rambles of a Naturalist on the Coasts of France, Spain and Sicily.