Petitgrain sur Fleurs

Citrus aurantium Amara

AKA Petitgrain bigarade (the French term for “bitter orange tree” is “Le Bigaradier”, meaning “little seeds”.

Grown, harvested and steam distilled from leaves and flowers, in Egypt, from organically grown trees.

This is a co-distillation—petitgrain is the essential oil distilled from the leaves of (usually) the bitter orange tree, Citrus aurantium. Nowadays, there are different petitgrains distilled from various citrus trees and ours is distilled from leaves with the addition of some flowers, making this oil a little richer, a little more floral than the “usual” petitgrain.

Arctander says

Petitgrain bigarade oil is a pale yellow or amber colored liquid of pleasant, fresh-floral, sweet odor, reminiscent of orange flowers with a slightly woody-herbaceous undertone and very faint, but sweet-floral dry-out notes. The “bitter” topnote may come from the bitter flavor. In olfaction, “bitter” often refers to a type of dryness, but here in this oil it’s accompanied by rich and sweet undertones. There is also a terpenic freshness which subdues the overwhelming sweetness this oil would otherwise show, due to the high linalyl acetate.

Petitgrain bigarade is used in perfumery mostly for its refreshing, sweet-floral notes in citrus colognes, fougères, etc. In flavors, petitgrain bigarade is used in low concentrations in fruit or honey flavors.

There is a separate entry in his book for Petitgrain sur Fleurs although when Arctander did his research (1960 was the publication date,) this co-distillation was only available through the Grasse perfume houses. He describes it as the petitgrain bigarade above but with a soft, sweet-woody, tenacious undertone. The orange flowers may display themselves particularly in the top-note, which attains life and brilliance far beyond the effect of an ordinary petitgrain bigarade oil. The roughness of the petitgrain is smoothed out or rounded off and the floral freshness is emphasized, lifted to a more elegant level or delicate harmony.

The codistillation is sometimes used to replace, or partially replace, neroli oil, and it blends well withal citrus oils, lavender oils, clary sage, rosemary, labdanum, oakmoss, frankincense, etc.

Battaglia says

The following actions can be attributed to petitgrain essential oil:

Antibacterial

Antifungal

Antispasmodic

Antidepressant

Deodorant

Digestive

Sedative

Stomachic

Petitgrain is known to have a stabilizing effect on the nervous system

To help with Insomnia

In skincare, it has a tonic effect, helpful for acne, oily skin, etc

For more information on the aromatherapeutic uses of petitgrain, please look to The Complete Guide to Aromatherapy.