The azahar or azahar fower is the citric plants flower. Its name comes from the arab word al-azahar, which means white flowe. This little flower withs its five petals, blossoms every spring invading our orchard with its beautiful color and perfume.
How does the azahar develope?
The azahar has a relatively short life cycle, as the blossom lasts approximately a month.
The great majority of the flower fall after the blossoms without developing into a fruit, those which stay in the tree will form a fruit.This natural process is crucial so that the trees can cope with the growth of the oranges, if all the flowers developed into oranges, the size and quality of them would be much less.
Citrics are quite strange in realtion to their development, as they on´t need to be polinated in order to develope their fruits. Oranges have the capacity of growing without beeing pollinated due to a process called parthenopia. These fruits are exactly the same as those pollinated but without seeds, that why we can find fruits with and without seeds.
The growth of the fruits during the first weeks is very fast and fragile. For this reason, good meteorological conditions are key for a correct developement of the fruits.
Properties of the azahar
One of the main uses of azahar is the preparation of natural infusions, some of them as easy as the azahar water. It is used in desserts and in other types of sweet meals.
The natural oil which can be extrated from the flower has ansiolitic properties and is very beneficial for people with sleeping disorders, anxiety or insomnia. for example, it is very useful mixed in herbal infusions to calm headaches, menstrual or stomach pain.
Due to its characteristic and striking smell it has various cosmetical applications, which allows the flower to be used in the elaboration of perfumes, facial tonics or mak-up removers.
In Naranjas San Rafael we love enjoying the awesome picture this flowers create every year with the arrival of spring.
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