Bitter orange blossoms
Bitter orange blossom belongs to the Rutaceae family.
The flower buds can grow up to 25 mm and have a white to yellowish white color.
The corolla consists of 5 thick, elongated concave petals showing a magnifying puncturing, caused by the oil
reservoir. The short, yellowish green, star-shaped calyx consists of 5 petals. Inside the buds, there are 20
stamens with yellow anthers.
The 8 to 10 fan-shaped ovary is brownish black, spherical and surrounded by an annular disc. The relatively thick and cylindrical stylus ends with a head-shaped blossom scar.
They are directly harvested and dried after spring. The main cultivation areas are the Iranian cities of Shiraz, Mazandaran, and Gilan.
Bitter orange blossoms are herbal medicine and used as a sedative for nervousness, stress and for insomnia. Bitter orange peel is used for treating loss of appetite and indigestion. They have numerous applications in Folk medicine, as well as in the perfumery.