Plant of the Day: Bergamot Orange

Bergamot orange is a fruit used mainly for its scent rather than it's flavor. Warning : Excessive use can be toxic and contact with the skin can increase photosensitivity. What is photosensitivity? A high sensitivity to sunlight beyond what is accepted as the norm. Personally, I suffer from this thanks to my use of Koji acid soap and my genetics. That's why I always look like a vampire victim - another poor creature that suffers from photosensitivity.

Why should we save the endangered bergamot orange? Because, it's a main component in Earl Grey tea, fool! I love Earl Grey tea. It's the best tea on the whole damn planet. It's also used in Turkish delight (so amazingly delicious). The saying is that only villainous characters like it, and in literature this is most often true. But come on. It's gelatinous cubes of fruit, nuts, dates, and covered in powdered sugar. It's squishy and sweet and it has bergamot. Oh, look at that. We've come full circle.

What else is it used in? Other food and drinks, delicious bergamot marmalade, cosmetics, and even perfumes and colognes. Also, its juice has been used in Calabrian indigenous medicine to treat malaria. But caution should be exercised. Excessive consumption of bergamot oil is dangerous for pregnant women and often fatal for children. So don't go chugging it thinking you'll be immune to malaria whilst simultaneously becoming the equivalent of a vampire - without the awkwardness of feasting on the necks of strangers.

What it looks like:

All hail the mighty bergamot, provider of life-giving Earl Grey!

So sit back, relax, and drink another cup of Earl Grey. You never know when it will be your last.

- Your Friendly Neighborhood Plant Scientist