Rangpur

Q: How is Rangpur used in perfumery?

Top-note opener and hesperidic-aromatic bridge. Rangpur peel oil's structural value lies in its γ-terpinene content (13%), which exceeds lemon (~7%), bergamot (~6%), and sweet orange (<1%). This terpene introduces a green, almost herbal quality that allows rangpur to connect citrus accords with aromatic notes — basil, thyme, clary sage — without the jarring gap that occurs when pairing conventional citrus oils with herbs. Limonene (57%) provides the expected citrus lift but requires allergen declaration under EU Regulation 2023/1545 above 0.001% in leave-on products. The cold-pressed form contains furanocoumarins and is phototoxic — a constraint shared with bergamot and expressed lime. Steam-distilled rangpur oil loses the phototoxic coumarins but also some of the aldehydic sparkle. The material is niche. Most fragrance houses do not stock it. Where used, it occupies the same position as bergamot or lemon — a top-note diffuser — but delivers a rounder, more mandarin-inflected opening.

NaturalCITRUSfresh · fruity

TopPyramid

4/5Strength

24hTenacity

3Origins

Specimen

Citrus × limonia Osbeck (syn. Citrus reticulata × Citrus medica)

Definition

Tangerine peel dipped in lemon juice, with a bitter-green twist. Not a true lime — a mandarin-citron hybrid with orange skin and sour flesh. The peel oil smells brighter and more mandarin-sweet than Persian lime, with a distinct herbaceous backbone that no other citrus delivers at this ratio.

CITRUS GREEN HERBAL FRESH SWEET

RANGPUR LIME LIMAU NIPIS LIMÃO CRAVO CANTON LEMON GANDHRAJ MANDARIN-LIME HIME LEMON

Type: Ingredient
Olfactive family: Citrus
Subfamily: Green citrus
Cluster: Classic citrus
Source: fruit peel
Chemical class: complex natural (essential oil)

Instruments

Pyramid

TTop

HHeart

BBase

4/5Strength

High

odour strength

Tenacity on blotter

24hours

1 h6 h24 h3 d7 d400 h

Producing countries

Brazil (primary — rootstock and fruit) India Bangladesh

Scent

Sharper than mandarin, sweeter than lemon, greener than either. The opening is a bright acid flash — fresh-squeezed citrus peel, zesty and almost effervescent — with an immediate tangerine sweetness underneath that lemon cannot produce. Within minutes, the γ-terpinene asserts itself: a herbaceous, almost thyme-adjacent greenness that separates rangpur from every other hesperidic oil. Compared to bergamot, rangpur lacks the lavender-like linalyl acetate smoothness; compared to grapefruit, it has none of the sulfurous nootkatone bite. The overall impression is of citrus peel left on a warm wooden cutting board — bright, dry, aromatic, with a faint waxy residue.

In PREMIEREPEAU

DISCOVERY SET7 × 2 ml →EXTRAIT DE PARFUMThe seven extraits →

Terroir & Expressions

The Full Story

Rangpur (Citrus × limonia) is not a lime. Genomic sequencing confirms it as an F1 hybrid of citron (Citrus medica, male parent) and mandarin (Citrus reticulata, female parent) — the same two species that produced the lemon, but through a separate hybridization event. The fruit has mandarin-orange skin, sour citron-like flesh, and a name borrowed from the city of Rangpur in northern Bangladesh. In India it is called gandhraj — king of fragrance.

Chemistry

GC-MS analysis of cold-pressed peel oil from Argentine cultivars (Ferreyra et al., Journal of Essential Oil Research, 2012) identified 39 compounds representing 99.35% of total composition. Monoterpene hydrocarbons dominate at 91.39%. Principal constituents: limonene (57.38 ± 1.09%), γ-terpinene (13.01 ± 0.37%), β-pinene (12.04 ± 0.63%). The γ-terpinene concentration is the signature differentiator — roughly double that of lemon (~7%) and triple that of sweet orange (<1%). This terpene is responsible for the herbaceous, almost thyme-like undertone absent from other citrus peel oils. Minor components include myrcene, p-cymene, terpinolene, linalool, neral, geranial, and β-bisabolene.

Scent Character

On a smelling strip, the expressed oil opens sharper and more acidic than mandarin but rounder and less terpenic than lemon. There is a tangerine sweetness in the first seconds that lemon never offers, followed by a green-herbaceous body from the γ-terpinene. The aldehydic sparkle (neral, geranial) is present but restrained — less insistent than in litsea cubeba. The dry-down is clean, transparent, and slightly waxy — citrus skin without citrus juice.

Use in Perfumery

Rangpur peel oil is a niche material. It does not appear on the standard citrus palette of most fragrance houses. Where used, it occupies the structural position of bergamotor lemon — a top-note diffuser — but delivers a rounder, more mandarin-inflected brightness with that particular herbaceous bridge to aromatic notes like basil, thyme, or clary sage.

Related notes: Bergamot · Bigarade · Bitter Orange · Blood Orange · Buddhas Hand · Calamansi · Candied Lemon · Chen Pi

History

Rangpur originated in South Asia — almost certainly India, where multiple settlements bore the name Rangpur. The fruit spread early throughout the Orient and East Indies. Its common name derives from the city of Rangpur in northern Bangladesh. In Bengali culture, the fruit is called gandhraj (king of fragrance) and is known for aromatic zest in cooking — zested over dal, fish curries, and the street food phuchk a. In the late nineteenth century, the Reasoner Brothers of Oneco, Florida, introduced rangpur to the United States after obtaining seeds from northwestern Bangladesh. In Brazil, rangpur (limão cravo) became the dominant citrus rootstock in the twentieth century due to its resistance to the tristeza virus. Its role in Western perfumery is recent and min or — rangpur peel oil remains a niche material, used occasionally in artisanal or small-batch citrus accords but absent from the standard palette of most large fragrance houses.

Did You Know?

In Bengali, rangpur is called gandhraj — king of fragrance. The name predates any Western perfumery interest in the fruit. In Brazil, rangpur (limão cravo, or clove lemon) is far more important below the graft line than above it: by 1995, 85% of São Paulo's 200 million sweet orange trees were grafted onto rangpur rootstock because of its tolerance to the tristeza virus. When a new disease — citrus sudden death — appeared in 1999, it killed over one million rangpur-rooted trees within four years.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method

Cold pressing (expression) of the fresh peel yields a pale yellow oil preserving the full terpene and furanocoumarin profile, including phototoxic psoralens. Steam distillation produces a non-phototoxic variant with a slightly flatter character due to thermal degradation of aldehydes (neral, geranial) and loss of heavier coumarins. Yield data specific to rangpur peel oil is scarce in peer-reviewed literature; typical cold-pressed citrus peel yields range 0.3–0.5% by weight. The oil is produced primarily in Brazil (where rangpur, called limão cravo, is the most widely planted citrus rootstock — 85% of São Paulo state's 200 million sweet orange trees by 1995 — and the fruit itself is widely available) and to a lesser extent in India and Bangladesh.

Formula: Complex mixture — major: limonene (C₁₀H₁₆), γ-terpinene (C₁₀H₁₆)
CAS: N/A — natural citrus oil blend, no single CAS (major component limonene: 5989-27-5)
Botanical: Citrus × limonia Osbeck (syn. Citrus reticulata × Citrus medica)
Appearance: Pale yellow to greenish mobile liquid
Odour strength: High
Lasting power: 24 hours
Synonyms: RANGPUR LIME LIMAU NIPIS LIMÃO CRAVO CANTON LEMON GANDHRAJ MANDARIN-LIME HIME LEMON

IFRA status

Restricted

Restricted under IFRA Standard 089 (citrus oils containing furocoumarins). Cold-pressed peel oil contains furocoumarin photosensitizers (5-MOP). Leave-on products applied to sun-exposed skin must comply with furocoumarin concentration limits. Limonene requires EU allergen declaration above threshold.

Physical properties

Note: Essential oil from Rangpur lime (Citrus limonia) peel. Citrus-mandarin hybrid character. Limited commercial availability.

In Perfumery

Top-note opener and hesperidic-aromatic bridge. Rangpur peel oil's structural value lies in its γ-terpinene content (13%), which exceeds lemon (~7%), bergamot (~6%), and sweet orange (<1%). This terpene introduces a green, almost herbal quality that allows rangpur to connect citrus accords with aromatic notes — basil, thyme, clary sage — without the jarring gap that occurs when pairing conventional citrus oils with herbs. Limonene (57%) provides the expected citrus lift but requires allergen declaration under EU Regulation 2023/1545 above 0.001% in leave-on products. The cold-pressed form contains furanocoumarins and is phototoxic — a constraint shared with bergamot and expressed lime. Steam-distilled rangpur oil loses the phototoxic coumarins but also some of the aldehydic sparkle. The material is niche. Most fragrance houses do not stock it. Where used, it occupies the same position as bergamot or lemon — a top-note diffuser — but delivers a rounder, more mandarin-inflected opening.

Role in the formula

01modifier

02lifting agent

03freshness

Available as

essential oil expressed oil