The familiar sweet orange comes from Sicily, Israel, Spain and the United States, each offering a slightly different characteristic. Chu-lu, the first monograph describing the various citruses, was written in China in 1178. Extraction: Cold-pressed...
This large Australian tree, sometimes also spelled “ti,” is related to eucalyptus. There are many species and subspecies; all have an interesting bark that curls off the trunk, giving them the name “paperbark.” Studies show...
Rosmarinus means “dew of the sea,” where this Mediterranean herb loves to grow. Rosemary delights the late winter with prolific blooms. Rosemary was the main ingredient in “Hungary Water” and the first cologne. The old French...
This small, scrubby tree from the Middle East and northeast Africa isn’t very handsome, but it makes up for its lackluster looks with the precious gum it exudes. An important trade item for more than a thousand years, myrrh was a primary...
A common Australian tree-also called by the less poetic name “black wattle”-mimosa is grown in Africa, Europe and warmer sections of the United States. It is used mostly in perfume. Family: Mimosaceae Extraction: Absolute, concrete. The...
Rudyard Kipling wrote of the “wind-bit thyme that smells like the perfume of the dawn in paradise.” Ancient Greeks complimented each other as “smelling like thymbra”; their word thymain meant “to burn as incense,”...
The French call this South American rain forest tree bois de rose, or “wood of rose.” Rosewood was first distilled in 1875 in French Guiana, but became so popular that the trees were all cut. It is one of the many plants that make the...
Peppermint self-hybridized, probably in the 17th century. It now grows wild throughout Europe, North America and Australia. After the British Medical Journal noted in 1879 that menthol relieves headaches and neuralgia, menthol cones (which evaporate...
One of the oldest perfume materials, sandalwood has been in use for at least 2,000 years. It begins producing oil only after 30 years. Mysore, India, produces the best-quality oil, which is regulated by the government, but oil is also available from...
The Biblical Queen Esther changed her name to Hadassah, after the Hebrew word hadas, for “myrtle.” This small, attractive North African tree now makes itself at home throughout the Mediterranean, and was a favorite in the ancient gardens...
Kathi Keville