The name "bitter orange", also known as Seville orange, sour orange, bigarade orange, and marmalade orange, refers to a citrus tree (Citrus × aurantium) and its fruit. It is hybrid between Citrus maxima and Citrus reticulata. Many varieties of bitter orange are used for their essential oil, which is used in perfume, as a flavoring and as a solvent. The Seville orange variety is used in the production of marmalade.
Bitter orange is also employed in herbal medicine as a stimulant and appetite suppressant. The active ingredient, synephrine, has been linked to a number of deaths, and consumer groups advocate avoiding medicinal use of the fruit.
Famous quotes containing the words bitter and/or orange:
“There is no help.
The bitter disposition of the time
Will have it so.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“He hangs in shades the orange bright,
Like golden lamps in a green night,
And does in the pomegranates close
Jewels more rich than Ormus shows;
He makes the figs our mouths to meet,
And throws the melons at our feet;
But apples plants of such a price
No tree could ever bear them twice.”
—Andrew Marvell (1621–1678)