Cedar Leaf Essential Oil
Cedar Leaf Essential Oil Profile, Thuja occidentalis, grows naturally in wet forests, being particularly abundant in swamps where other larger and faster-growing trees cannot compete successfully. It also occurs on other sites with reduced tree competition such as cliffs. This well-known ornamental North American evergreen; it can reach a height of 70-80 feet, retaining its dense, pyramidal form. This hardy evergreen has a dense, scale-like foliage, waxy to the touch, and fragrant. The name Thuja is a Latinized form of a Greek word meaning 'to fumigate,' or thuo ('to sacrifice'), for the fragrant wood was burnt by the ancients with sacrifices. In America the wood is much used for fencing and palings, as a light roofing timber, and, as it is both durable and pliable, for the ribs and bottom of bark boats, and also for limekilns, bowls, boxes, cups, and small articles of furniture.
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| Botanical Name: | Thuja occidentalis L. |
| Family: | Cupressaceae |
| Synonyms: | Eastern arborvitae, American arborvitae, techny arborvitae, arborvitae, Northern whitecedar, Eastern whitecedar, white cedar, swamp cedar |
| See Also: | |
| Parts Used: | Needles and twigs |
| Extraction Method: | Steam distillation. |
| Appearance: | Colourless to pale greenish yellow liquid |
| Aroma Description: | Intensely sharp, fresh, camphor woody |
| Perfume note: | Top |
| Consistancy: | |
| Strength of Initial Aroma: | |
| Blends well with: | Armoise, cedarwood, citrus oils, lavender, pine needle |
| Historical Uses: | American Indians have used leaf tea for headaches and colds, in cough syrups, and in steam baths for rheumatism, arthritis, congestion, and gout; externally, as a wash for swollen feet and burns. Doctors once used the leaf tincture externally on warts, venereal warts, gonorrhea, syphilis, prostate problems, toothache, whooping cough, piles, ulcers, bed sores, and fungus infections. It is also a Folk medicine cancer remedy. Used in herbaceous flavours for alcoholic drinks and in fragrance compounds for cosmetic perfumery |
| Modern Uses: | Thuja essential oil is often used in pharmaceaticals as a disinfectant, also use as a fragrance ingredient in soaps and toiletries. |
| Cautions: | Oral toxin, due to high thujone content. Abortifacient. |
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