Laraha

Laraha
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Rutaceae
Genus:	Citrus
Species:	Citrus aurantium x?x currassuviencis

Laraha refers to a citrus tree (Citrus aurantium currassuviencis) that grows on the island of Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles, and the fruits of this tree. A relative of the orange, the fruit of the Laraha is even more bitter than their other citrus cousins and generally considered inedible.

History and use

Valencia orange trees transplanted on Curaçao from Spain in 1527 did not take the arid climate and soil of the Southern Caribbean island. As the trees were then abandoned, the fruit changed overtime from a bright orange color and sweet taste into a green and inedible bitter produce. The dried peels of the Laraha, however, were discovered to be quite pleasantly fragranced, and experimentation with the extracts of these peels led to the creation of Curaçao liqueur.

See also

• Bitter orange

References

• Benjamin, Alan Fredric (2002). Jews of the Dutch Caribbean. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-27439-7.
• Gastmann, Albert (1978). Historical Dictionary of the French and Netherlands Antilles. Scarecrow Press. p. 110. ISBN 0-8108-1153-7.

External links

• Information on the Laraha