ORRIS. Iris florentina. N.O. Iridaceae.
Synonym : Florentine Orris.
Habitat : Cultivated in Northern Italy and Morocco.
Features : The white Florentine root, which is preferred to other varieties, is irregular in shape and shows marks where the rootlets branched before preparation for export. Verona Orris root tapers more gradually than that from Florence, and appears more compressed. The Moroccan root is noticeable for the dirty white cortex which remains on the root. Orris gives off a violet-like scent.
Part used : Root.
Large quantities of the finely pulverised root are used in the preparation of toilet and dusting powders, dentifrices and cachous, for which purposes the acceptable fragrancy and other appropriate qualities make Orris root eminently suitable. Toilet recipes are given in another section of this book.
Orris is not used for purely medicinal purposes.
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