Botanical illustration of Citrus vulgaris, 1880

This plate shows a botanical illustration print of the plant Citrus vulgaris, or bitter orange. The plate comes from the book Medicinal Plants, written by Robert Bentley and Henry Trimen and published in 1880. Bentley was a fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.

Oranges have long had an association with Christmas. The tradition of putting an orange in stockings comes from the 19^th century, when oranges were a rare treat.

The leaves and fruit of bitter orange have traditionally been used to alleviate nausea and aid digestion, but the evidence for the efficacy of bitter orange extract is inconclusive.