Botanical Name: Citrus sinensis
Plant Part: Crude Fruit Peel
Extraction Method: Cold Pressed
Origin: Italy
Description: Citrus sinensis is a middle-sized evergreen tree, with an arborescent stem, covered with bark of a greenish-brown color, having auxiliary spines on the branches. The leaves are alternate, ovate-oblong, acute, shining green, the stalk more or less winged. The flowers are large, white, rendering the atmosphere around very fragrant; the calyx urceolate and 5-cleft: the petals 5, oblong; the stamens 20 or even more; the filaments compressed at the base, more or less united there, and polyadelphous; the anthers oblong and yellow.
Color: Deep Orange
Common Uses: Therapeutically, it is very similar to sweet orange in its uses, although considered the most antidepressant of the citrus oils. Antidepressant, antiseptic, antispasmodic, aphrodisiac, carminative, cordial, deodorant, digestive, stimulant (nervous), tonic (cardiac, circulatory).
Consistency: Light
Note: Middle
Strength of Aroma: Medium
Blends well with: Lavender, lemon, clary sage, myrrh and spicy oils such as nutmeg, cinnamon and clove.
Aromatic Scent: Blood Orange essential oil has a warm, fresh citrus scent, radiant, fruity and tangy. More intensely aromatic than the sweet orange we are familiar with, Blood Orange adds a sparkling citrus note to blends. The blood orange has streaks of red in the fruit, and when squeezed the juice is often reddish.
History: Also known as Maltese Orange, the fruit originated in India (some say Vietnam) and was called na rangi in Sanskrit. The na rangi or naranja was translated as norange, and in English usage a norange was back-formed into the more acceptable an orange. The same thing happened in French and Italian, but in Spanish it is still naranja.
Cautions: No known toxicity. Avoid exposure to sunlight after skin application due to possible photo toxicity.