Plant Patents
Today
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has allowed for the patenting of plants since 1936. Plant patents are granted for the "invention" of asexually reproduced plants.

Oranges are the world's largest citrus crop. Of the top four orange producers, three of them are in the "new world." One orange contains all the vitamin C that a person needs for a day. Horticulturists develop and patent new varieties of these fruits responding to consumer demands.

Illustration from:
United States Patent Plant 10,480: Mandarin Tangerine Called Nadorcott from Inventor El Bachir Nadori, assigned to Jean de Maistre, Porticragnos, France.