Orange blossom is the fruit of the bitter orange tree, a thorny shrub. It has been used in food and medicine for thousands of years. The essential oil from the flowers is also called neroli, and the trees are sometimes referred to as bigarade or bitter orange trees. The trees spread throughout India during the…
The mango tree is an exotic tree in the Anacardiaceae family native to India and Burma. It is widely grown in tropical countries for its fleshy fruit. This majestic tree with a huge trunk can grow up to 40 metres tall. Its dense, dark green foliage forms a wide spherical crown. Its long roots draw…
Aborigines in Australia called macadamia nuts “gyndl” or “jindilli”. They traded this protein-rich nut with the first European colonists who arrived in Australia, who then exported them all over the world. Today, macadamia trees are naturalised in countries including Kenya, Hawaii and South Africa. They are grown for their wood and nuts, which are eaten…
Annatto, also called achiote, is a perennial shrub with dense foliage which has grown since before the Incas. It is also sometimes referred to as urucum, taken from the language of the Tupi people (indigenous tribes from Brazil’s coastal areas) who named it urucu. In the Amazon, natives paint their bodies with it, in particular…
The shea tree, or shea butter tree, is a wild tree in the Sapotaceae family. It grows naturally in Africa only, in the Sudan and Sahelian zones north of the equator. It is mainly present in wooded savannahs and can grow up to 20 metres high. It reaches its maximum production at 50 years of…
Synonymous with tropical beaches, the coconut palm belongs to the Arecaceae family. The tree grows mainly in tropical regions such as Southeast Asia. Adult coconut palms can reach 30 metres in height, with their leaf crowns up to 8 metres wide. Coconut seeds spread via ocean dispersal, but the species was also propagated by humans…
Aloe vera is a succulent plant in the Aloeaceae family. The plant’s name is derived from the Arabic word alloeh meaning “a shining bitter substance” and the Latin word vera which means “true” or “authentic”. Aloe vera has a long, glorious history dating back to 2200 BC, when it was mentioned for the first time…
If we are to believe the ancient texts, apricots featured on the tables of the Chinese emperors as far back as 3000 BC. It wasn’t until 300 BC, however, that it appeared in orchards. And it was only at the start of the sixteenth century that apricots were officially cultivated in France. Soldiers collected the…
