Description: The Bitter Orange Tree is closely related to the Sweet Orange. It is hardier and more resistent to disease serving as a rootstock to other citrus fruits. Plantations once established can last for a hundred years. From the bitter orange tree is derived three valuable essential oils. From the blossom comes Neroli which is an essential constituent of any perfume. The trees are hard pruned back and from the pruned leaves and twigs is distilled Pettigrain (often substituted for true neroli). From the peel of the fruit comes Bitter Orange Essential Oil.
The Bitter Orange tree is cultivated primarily for its flowers, which are used to produce a wide range of "orange blossom" products, but also for its fruits (orange peel oil) and leaves (essential oil of Petitgrain).
Today the main bitter orange flowers producing countries are Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt. Other countries produce oils from the fruit peel (e.g. Bitter Orange oil from Côte d'Ivoire and Italy) and essential oils from the leaves (Petitgrain from Paraguay, Italy, Morocco).
Origin: Italy
Botanical Name: Citrus aurantium var amara
Source: Zest of the fruit.
Extraction Method: Expressed
Perfumery note: Top
Principal Constituents: d-Limonene, myrcene, camphene, pinene, ocimene, cymene. [Julia Lawless, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils (Rockport, MA: Element Books, 1995), 116.]
Safety Information: Phototoxic. [Robert Tisserand, Essential Oil Safety (United Kingdom: Churchill Livingstone, 1995), 156.] Do not use if the area of application will be exposed to sunlight within 24 hours due to its phototoxicity.
General Safety Information:
Do not take any oils internally without consultation from a qualified aromatherapy practitioner. Do not apply undiluted essential oils onto the skin. If you are pregnant, epileptic, have liver damage, have cancer, or have any other medical problem, use oils only under the proper guidance of a qualified aromatherapy practitioner. Use extreme caution when using oils with children and give children only the gentlest oils at extremely low doses. It is safest to consult a qualified aromatherapy practitioner before using oils with children. A skin patch test should be conducted prior to using an oil that you've never used before.
