Aurantia'ceæ

Aurantia'ceæ (from late Lat. aurantium, 'an orange'), an order of Thalamifloral Dicotyledons, frequently grouped under Rutaceæ, are trees and shrubs, often of great beauty. The order contains about one hundred known species, natives of warm climates, and almost all of the East Indies, but now largely diffused by cultivation. The species of the genus Citrus are the best known, among which are the orange, lemon, citron, &c. But many other genera produce agreeable fruits, among which the Bael-fruit (Ægle marmelos, q.v.) and the Wampee (Cookia punctata) deserve particular notice. The fruits, ripe and unripe, juice and rind, the flowers, leaves, bark, &c. of a number of species are employed medicinally, their properties being largely due to the fragrant volatile oil, which abounds especially in the leaves and the rind of the fruit. See BAEEL-FRUIT, CITRON, LEMON, LIME, ORANGE, SHADDOCK.