Cajeput: Melaleuca cajeputi
A tall evergreen tree up to 30 meters high, with thick pointed leaves and white flowers. The flexible trunk has a whitish spongy bark which flakes off easily. In Malaysia it is called 'caju-puti', meaning 'white wood', due to the color of the timber.
Distribution: It grows wild in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Java, Australia and south eastern Asia. Closely related to other members of the Melaleuca group, notably eucalyptus, clove, niaouli and tea tree.
Characteristics: A pale yellowy-green, mobile liquid (the green tinge derives from traces of copper found in the tree), with a penetrating, camphoraceous-medicinal odor. Compared with eucalyptus oil, it has a slightly milder fruity body note.
Principal Constituents: Cineol (14-65 percent depending on source), terpiniol, terpinyl acetate, pinene, nerolidol and other traces.
Safety Data: Non-toxic, non-sensitizing, may irritate skin in high concentrations.
Lavender, Bulgarian Super: Lavandula angustifolia
Parts: Flowering Tops
Method: Steam Distillation
Origin: Bulgaria
Class: Monoterpene/Ester
An evergreen woody shrub, up to 1 meter tall, with pale green, narrow, linear leaves and flowers on blunt spikes of beautiful violet-blue color. The whole plant is highly aromatic.
Distribution: Indigenous to the Mediterranean region, now cultivated all over the world. The oil is produced mainly in France, also Spain, Italy, England, Australia, Tasmania, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Russia, Bulgaria, Greece, etc.
Characteristics: The oil is a colorless to pale yellow liquid with a sweet, floral-herbaceous scent and balsamic-woody undertone; it has a more fragrant floral scent compared to spike lavender.
Principal Constituents: Over 100 constituents including linalyl acette (up to 40 percent), linalol, lavandulol, lavandulyl acetate, terpineol, cineol, limonene, ocimene, caryophyllene, among others. Constituents vary according to source: high altitudes generally produce more esters.
Safety Data: Nontoxic, nonirritant, non-sensitizing.
Orange Oil, Wild: Citrus Sinensis9
Parts: Peel
Method: Cold Pressed
Origin: West Indies
Class: Monoterpene
General Description: An evergreen tree, smaller than the bitter variety, less hardy with fewer or no spines.Tthe fruit has a sweet pulp and non-bitter membranes.
Distribution: Native to China; extensively cultivated especially in America (California and Florida) and round the Mediterranean (France, Spain, Italy). The expressed oil is mainly produced in Israel, Cyprus, Brazil and North America; the distilled oil mainly comes from the Mediterranean and North America.
Characteristics: A yellowy-orange or dark orange mobile liquid with a sweet, fresh-fruity scent, richer than the distilled oil.
Principal Constituents: Over 90 percent monoterpenes, mainly limonene. The cold expressed oil also contains bergapten, auraptenol and acids.
Safety Data: Generally non-toxic (although ingestion of large amounts of orange peel has been known to be fatal to children); nonirritant and non-sensitizing (although limonene has been found to cause dermatitis in a few individuals). Distilled orange oil is phototoxic: its use on he skin should be avoided if there is danger of exposure to direct sunlight. However, there is no evidence to show that expressed sweet orange oil is phototoxic.
Cardomon: Elettaria cardamomomum
Family: Zingiberaceae
Parts: Dried rip fruit
Method: Steam Distillation
Origin:Asia
Class:
General Description: A perennial reedlike herb up to 4 meters high, with long, silky blad-shaped leaves. It's longs sheathing stems bear small yellowish flowers with purple tips, followed by oblong red-brown seeds.
Distribution: Native to tropical Asia, especially southern India; cultivated extensively in India, Sri Lanka, Laos, Guatemala and El Salvador.
Characteristics: A colorless to pale yellow liquid with a sweet-spicy, warming fragrance and a woody-balsamic undertone. It blends well with rose, orange, bergamot, cinnamon, clove, ylang ylang, cedarwood, neroli.
Principal Constituents: Terpinyl acetate and cineol, limonene, sabinene linalol, linalyl acetate, pinen, zingiberene.
Safety Data: Non-toxic, non-irritant, non-sensitizing.
Clove Bud Super: EugeniaCaryophyllata
Family: Myrtaceae
Parts: Buds
Method: Water Distillation
Origin:
Class:
General Description: A slender evergreen tree with a smooth grey trunk, up to 12 meters high. It has larger bright green leaves standing inpairs on short stalks.
Distribution: Native to Indonesia. Now culitvated worldwide, especially the Philippines, the Molucca Islands and Madagascar.
Characteristics: A sweet-spicy odor and a fruity-fresh top note. It blends well with rose, lavender, vanillin, clary sage, bergamot, bay leaf, lavandi, allspice, ylang ylang.
Principal Constituents: Bud: 60-90 percent eugenol, eugenyl acetate, caryophyllene.
Safety Data: All clove oils can cause skin and mucous membrane irritaion; clove bud and stem oil may cause dermatiits in some individuals. Clove bud is the least toxic of the three oils due to the lower eugenol percentage. Use in moderation only in low dilution, less than 1 percent.
Cypress: Cupressus sempervirens
Family: Cupressaceae
Parts: Needles and twigs
Method: Steam Distillation
Origin:
Class:
General Description: A tall evergreen tree with slender branches and a statuesque conical shape. It bears small flowers and round, brownish-grey cone or nuts.
Distribution: Native to eastern Mediterranean; Now grows wild iin France, Italy, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, Spain, Portugal, N. Africa, England.
Characteristics: A pale yellow to greenish-olive mobile liquid with a smoky, sweet-balsamic tenacious odor. Blends well with cedarwood, pine, lavender, mandaarin, clary sage, cardomon, chomomile, juniper, bergamot, orange, sandalwood.
Principal Constituents: Pinene, camphene, sylvestrene, cymen, sabinol.
Safety Data: Non-toxic, non-irritant, non-sensitizing.
Frankincense: Boswelia carteri
Family:Burseraceae
Parts: Oleo Gum Resin
Method: Steam Distillation
Origin:
Class:
General Description: A small tree or shrub with abundant pinnate leaves and white or pale pink flowers. It yields a natural oleo gum resin which is collected by making incissions into the bark: at first a milky white liquid appears which then solidifies into tear shaped amber to orange brown lumps the size of a pea to a walnut
Distribution: Native to the Red Sea region; grows wild throughout north east Africa.
Characteristics: A pale yellow to greenish mobile liquid with a fresh, terpeney top note and a warm, rich, sweet-balsamic undertone. Blends well with sandalwood pine, vetiver, geranium, lavender, neroli, orange, bergamot, camphor, basil, pepper, cinnamon. It modifies the sweetness of citrus blends in an intriguing way.
Principal Constituents: Mainly monoterpene hydrocarbons, notably pinene, dipentene, limonene, thujene, phellandrene, cymene, myrcene, terpinene, also octyl acetate, octanol, incensole.
Safety Data: Non-toxic, non-irritant, non-sensitizing.
Geranium Bourbon: Pelargonium graveolens
Family: Geraniaceae
Parts: Leaves, stalks and flowers,
Method: Steam Distillation
Origin:
Class:
General Description: A perennial hairy shrub up to 1 meeter high wit pointed leaves, serrated at the edges and small pink flowers. The whole plant is aromatic.
Distribution: Native to South Africa. Essential oil production is mainly in Reunion (Bourbon), Egypt and Russia.
Characteristics: The Bourbon oil is a greenish-olive liquic with a green, rosy-sweet, minty scent. The Bourbon oil is generally preferred in perfumery work; it blends well with lavender, patchouli, clove, rose, sandalwood, jasmine, juniper, neroli, bergamot and other citrus oils.
Principal Constituents: Citronellol, geraniol, linalol, isomenthone, methone, phellandrene, sabinene, limonene.
Safety Data: Non-toxic, non-irritant, generally non-sensitizing; possilbe contact dermatitis in hypersensitive individuals, especially with the Bourbon type.
Spearmint: Mentha spicata
Family: Lamiaceae
Parts: flowering tops
Method: Steam Distillation
Origin:
Class:
General Description: A hardy branched perennial herb with bright green, lance-shaped, sharply toothed leaves, quickly spreading underground runners and pink or lilac colored flowers in slender cylindrical spikes.
Distribution: Native to the Mediterranean region, now common throughout euopre, western Asia and the Middles East.
Characteristics: A pale yellow or olive mobile liquid with a warm, spicy-herbaceoius, minty odor. It blends well with lavender, lavandin, jasmine, eucapytus, basil and rosemary.
Principal Constituents: L-carvone, dihydrocarvone, phellandrene, limonene, menthone, menthol, pulegone, cineol, linalol, pinenes.
Safety Data: Non-toxic, non-irritant, generally non-sensitizing; possilbe contact dermatitis in hypersensitive individuals, especially with the Bourbon type.
Clove Bud Super: EugeniaCaryophyllata
Family: Myrtaceae
Parts: Buds
Method: Water Distillation
Origin:
Class:
General Description: A slender evergreen tree with a smooth grey trunk, up to 12 meters high. It has larger bright green leaves standing inpairs on short stalks.
Distribution: Native to Indonesia. Now culitvated worldwide, especially the Philippines, the Molucca Islands and Madagascar.
Characteristics: A sweet-spicy odor and a fruity-fresh top note. It blends well with rose, lavender, vanillin, clary sage, bergamot, bay leaf, lavandi, allspice, ylang ylang.
Principal Constituents: Bud: 60-90 percent eugenol, eugenyl acetate, caryophyllene.
Safety Data: All clove oils can cause skin and mucous membrane irritaion; clove bud and stem oil may cause dermatiits in some individuals. Clove bud is the least toxic of the three oils due to the lower eugenol percentage. Use in moderation only in low dilution, less than 1 percent.
Rosemary: Rosmarinus officinalis
Family: Lamiaceae
Parts: Fresh flowering tops. In poorer qualities oils the whole plant may be used.
Method: Steam Distillation
Origin:
Class:
General Description: A shrubby evergreen bush up to 2 meters high with a silvery-green, needle shaped leaves and pale blue flowers. The whole plant is strongly aromatic.
Distribution: Native to the Mediterranean region, now cultivated worldwide.
Characteristics: A colorless or pale yellow mobile liquid with a strong, fresh minty-herbaceous scent and a woody-balsamic undertone. Poor quality oils have a stong camphoracewous note. It blends well with olibanum, lavender, lavandin, citronella, oregano, thyme, pine, basil, peppermint, cedarwood, petitgrain, cinnamon and other spice oils.
Principal Constituents: Mainly pinenes, camphene, limonene, cineol, borneol with camphor, linalol, terpiniol, octanone, bornyl acetate.
Safety Data: Non-toxic, non-irritant in dilution only, non-sensitizing. Avoid during pregnancy. Not to be used by epileptics.
Essential oil information is excerpted from The Encyclopedia of Essential Oils, by Julia Lawless. This is meant to be a guideline only and is not comprehensive.
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