Blog

Native to the Red Sea region, Somalia, Ethiopia, and China, this leafy, ‘tangled’ tree, with its papery peeling bark yields an essential oil from the dried resin that oozes through cracks and incisions within the bark. Frankincense resin has been used in ceremonies for thousands of years, and was offered as a precious gift to […]

Native to the Middle East and Western Asia, Galbanum is a large perennial herb with a smooth hollow stem, finely toothed ovate leaflets, and umbels of small white or yellow flowers. The whole plant contains a milky white juice that exudes from the base of the stem when the plant is cut down. This juice […]

Native to South Africa and widely cultivated in Russia, Egypt, Japan, and Central America and Europe, geranium is a perennial hairy scented shrub with pointed serrated edged leaves, and small pink flowers. There are hundreds of species of geranium, but only roseum or roseum asperum are used for essential oil extraction, which is steam distilled […]

One of the most versatile essential oils, lavender is native to the Mediterranean, and is cultivated in England and Northern Europe, Italy, and Australia. It is a woody evergreen shrub, with pale green narrow leaves and striking violet-blue flowers borne on blunt spikes. The whole plant is highly aromatic. Harvested toward the end of flowering, […]

Native to South Eastern Asia and the Philippines, introduced to Europe and America in the 1800’s, and now cultivated and produced mainly in Italy, Spain, Cypress, Greece, and the Middle East, this small evergreen, usually thorny tree produces highly fragrant single or clustered flowers that bear fleshy bright orange fruits with a loose peel. The […]

Native to tropical regions and cultivated in China, India, the Philippines, Western Australia, and America, patchouli is a perennial fragrant herb with large oval leaves and spikes bearing small white or pink and light purple flowers. The shoots and leaves are picked two to three times a year and are partially fermented before being steam […]

Native to China and North East India, and cultivated in Paraguay, France, North Africa, and Haiti, petitgrain is an evergreen aromatic tree with a smooth brown trunk, stout branches, and leathery dark leaves, that produces very fragrant blossoms and small bitter orange fruits. Also known as ‘orange leaf oil’, petitgrain essential oil is steam distilled […]

Although native to the Middle East and Orient, the largest producers of rose essential oil today are Bulgaria, Turkey, and France.  A deciduous informally shaped shrub, with curved prickles, pinnate leaves, and relatively small pink to light red highly fragrant numerous-petalled flowers.  There are several species, however, demascena and centifolia are the most common essential […]

Native to the mountains of India, growing in the Himalayas, Nepal, India, and China, Spikenard is a tender flowering herb with pink bell-shaped flowers, clustered in umbels on top of a long green stem, with dark to light elongated or oval shaped leaves, and underground rhizomes and roots. The essential oil is steam distilled from […]

Native to Australia, flourishing in moist, low lying, swampy areas around Northern New South wales, and Southern Queensland, Tea Tree is a shrub or tree, with green to dark-green coloured ovate or lanceolite shaped leaves, and white to yellow, or greenish to pink or red flowers bundled tightly on central stemens.  The bark is often […]

Native to India, and cultivated throughout the tropical regions of the world, vetvert is a perennial grass, with tall stems and long, thin, rigid leaves, which grow in clumps, with deep roots, and brownish-purple flowers.  The essential oil is steam distilled from the washed, dried, and chopped roots and rootlets, and is deep brown-red in […]