Last April, I walked into the courtyard of the Real Alcazar in Seville and was overwhelmed bythe intensity of scent from theorange trees in blossom. It seemed as though not just the courtyard of the palace but all the streets around - the entire city -was bathed in this opulent fragrance. It was a powerful reminder that the Moors and subsequent Christian occupants of the palace grew oranges as much for their scent as their appearance. Eating the fruit did not feature at all because they grew the bitter or Seville orange, Citrus x aurantium, which arrived from China around 900AD. Our familiar sweet orange, C. sinensis, didn't reach Europe until about 1500. The juice from the bitter oranges was used in cooking and the oil from their skins was an essential ingredient in many perfumes, but they were primarily grown for the olfactory and visual pleasures they provided.
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