The bitter orange, sour orange, Seville orange, bigarade orange, or marmalade orange is the hybrid citrus tree species Citrus × aurantium, and its fruit. It is native to Southeast Asia and has been spread by humans to many parts of the world. It is a cross between the pomelo, Citrus maxima, and the wild type mandarin orange, Citrus reticulata. The bitter orange is used to make essential oil, used in foods, drinks, and pharmaceuticals. The Seville orange is prized for making British orange marmalade.
Definition
In some proposed systems, the species Citrus × aurantium includes not only the bitter orange proper, but all other hybrids between the pomelo and the wild type mandarin, namely the sweet orange, the grapefruit, and all cultivated mandarins. This article only deals with the bitter orange proper.
History
The bitter orange, like many cultivated Citrus species, is a hybrid, in its case of the wild mandarin and pomelo.
The bitter orange, like many cultivated Citrus species, is a hybrid, in its case of the wild mandarin and pomelo.
The bitter orange spread from its native ranges of South China and Southeast Asia via India and Iran to the Islamic world as early as 700 AD in the Arab Agricultural Revolution. After the Columbian exchange, the pomelo was introduced to the New World, starting in Mexico by 1568.
Botany
Foliage, blossoms and fruit. Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, 1897
The bitter orange has orange fruit with a distinctly bitter or sour taste. The tree has alternate simple leaves on long petioles; there are long thorns on the petiole. The trees require little care and may live for as long as 600 years. It grows in subtropical regions but can tolerate a brief frost.
The bitter orange has many of the same pests and diseases as other citrus fruits. Viral diseases include citrus tristeza virus, crinkly leaf virus, and xyloporosis. Among the many fungal diseases are anthracnose, dieback, and heart rot.
