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:
“For the lips of a loose woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.”
—Bible: Hebrew, Proverbs 5:3.
“Give not this rotten orange to your friend;
She’s but the sign and semblance of her honor.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)