Canarium luzonicum / Elemi / Burseraceae (Copal Family)

Information

This product is not sold or intended for the purpose of human consumption or cosmetic use. Any information provided about this product on this website, including any links to external websites, are solely intended for historical, scientific and educational purposes and must not be interpreted as a recommendation for a specific use of the product. The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and the product is not intended to "diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease." The use and application of this product, based on the historical and scientific context provided in the product descriptions and articles, is solely at the customer's risk. This product is a botanical specimen of ethnographic value and interest only and is delivered with no express or implied fitness for any purpose. The product descriptions are compiled from sources we deemed to be reliable up to the date it was written but may contain omissions or errors in fact, or become outdated. It outlines the documented history of uses but should no way be construed to make any medical claims about the ability or efficacy of any of these plants to treat, prevent or mitigate any disease or condition. Although a plant may have a long history of being used for a particular purpose, scientific evidence proving its efficacy for that purpose may be lacking.

Other Names

Resina Elemi, Gummi Elemi, Manila Elemi, Kenari Tree, Pili.

Description

Manila Elemi is the soft, fragrant oleoresin obtained from the trunk of the Canarium luzonicum. The resin Elemi is pale yellow or greenish in color and has a balsamic fragrance, smells a bit like Fennel. Through steam distillation an essential oil can also be produced. The tree Canarium luzonicum grows in the Philippines. It has been used as an ingredient of incense, perfume, soaps and varnish.

Scent

It has an aromatic, warm, acrid taste, and a fragrant, fresh terpeney, peppery, lemony, woody, balsamic and spicy fragrance. In perfumery it is a freshener and top note component. Perfume-note: Middle to Top.

Aromatic Properties

A harmonising fragrance useful in meditation, inducing a deep calm without drowsiness. Restorative, refreshing and stimulating, fortifying, warming. Used ritually for magic, divination, knowledge, protection, invocation, and evocation.

Contents

The chief constituents of Manila elemi are volatile oil and resin. The resin is a pale yellow substance, of honey-like consistency. The constituents include phellandrene, dipentene, elemol, elemicin, terpineol, carvone, and terpinolene.

Synergic Combinations

Blends well with aphrodisiac oils like Rose, Jasmine, Sandalwood, Frankincense. Blend with Ylang Ylang, Vanilla or Jasmine to support its soft qualities. Great fixative, that binds other more volatile aromas and makes them last longer.

Additional Remarks

Ethyl alcohol is a comparatively poor solvent for Elemi, but some perfumers prefer to extract only once with one or two parts of ethyl alcohol. It will be necessary to filtrate the extract before it cools off. A smaller yield of resinoid is thus obtained, but it presents the heart of the fragrance of Elemi in a more concentrated form and higher concentration of the rare but important oxygenated components of Elemi.

Historical

Because of its drying and conserving properties, Elemi was one of the aromatics used by the ancient Egyptians for embalming their dead. Used in perfumery for centuries as a fixative and fragrance component, for example in soaps, detergents, perfumes, cosmetics. Its main use is as a fragrance in the from of oil.
In tropical forest regions Elemi has been used for lighting purpose (rolled up in leaves). Occasionally is is used as an ingredient in lacquers and varnishes, where it gives toughness and elasticity to the dried film.

Plant Description

Canarium is a genus of big shade trees in the Old World tropics, extending from Malaysia, Philipines to the Pacific Islands. It is a large tree up to 35m tall and 1m in diameter. It is found in primary forests in Luzon and some other islands of the Philippines. The Elemi tree is known locally as "Pili" and the gum is exported from Manila in two qualities: "Primera" which is cleaned gum and "Secunda" which is still crude and unclean.
The oleoresin is obtained from the tree the whole year round, but mainly at the rain season. One tree produces 4-5 kilos of resin a year. The resin solidifies on contact with the air and the resin stops when the tree loses its leaves. The resin, when recent, occurs in transparent, soft, granular masses, consisting of a solution of solid resin in essential oil. Externally it has a light, canary-yellow color, and, as found in commerce, is largely solidified, presenting an opaque and granular fracture, due to the crystallization of the resin. Chips and other foreign substances are often found in the solid fragments. When wetted with a little alcohol, Elemi readily disintegrates, showing a multitude of small, crystalline needles. It melts easily into a transparent fluid.

References

King's American Dispensatory, by Harvey Wickes Felter, M.D., and John Uri Lloyd, Phr. M., Ph. D., 1898
The Dispensatory of the United States of America, edited by Joseph P. Remington, Horatio C. Wood and others, 1918

Cistus cyprius / Labdanum / Cistaceae (Rockrose family)

Information

This product is not sold or intended for the purpose of human consumption or cosmetic use. Any information provided about this product on this website, including any links to external websites, are solely intended for historical, scientific and educational purposes and must not be interpreted as a recommendation for a specific use of the product. The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and the product is not intended to "diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease." The use and application of this product, based on the historical and scientific context provided in the product descriptions and articles, is solely at the customer's risk. This product is a botanical specimen of ethnographic value and interest only and is delivered with no express or implied fitness for any purpose. The product descriptions are compiled from sources we deemed to be reliable up to the date it was written but may contain omissions or errors in fact, or become outdated. It outlines the documented history of uses but should no way be construed to make any medical claims about the ability or efficacy of any of these plants to treat, prevent or mitigate any disease or condition. Although a plant may have a long history of being used for a particular purpose, scientific evidence proving its efficacy for that purpose may be lacking.

Other Names

Labdamum

Description

Labdanum is produced in Spain, the main supplier of crude Labdanum gum. Labdanum concrete is a sticky waxy, green to olive green or brownish green mass of sweet and pleasant, balsamic Amber-like odor with a tenacious backnote of rich, herbaceous character. This is an odor which is quite familiar to anyone who has visited the Mediterranean countries or islands during the months of March to July. Labdanum is used in soap perfumes where its alcohol insoluble matter is no serious drawback. It may at times even be an advantage through the fixative effect of the waxes and resins.

Scent

The fragrance of Labdanum is very complex. This waxy resin produces a balsam-like, woody, earthy, marshy, smoky, Ambergris-like, leathery, flowery, honeylike, mintlike fragrance with hints of plum or oakmoss after a rain.
Its odour effect is generally perceived as warming and restorative. In ancient times, the aroma was regarded as an aphrodisiac. The scent is said to be helpful for recalling past lives and buried memories.

Aromatic Properties

The fragrance of Labdanum strengthens the body and provides warmth and sensuality. It is very grounding, balancing and uplifting. It resembles Ambergris, and is used as a good substitute. On some skin types, Labdanum's sweet fragrance will trigger an ancient memory - there is a distinct smell that can be produced when it is worn alone that will remind one of ancient cultures where sacred activities were more commonplace. Labdanum is as an ambient aroma to facilitate meditation, helpful during convalescence or when suffering from nervous exhaustion.

Contents

Alpha pinene (46,62%), camphene (5,91%), limonene (1,64%), cineol 1,8 (0,27%), para cymene (2,22%), bornyl acetate (3,35%), terpinene 4 ol (1,84%), borneol (3,82%), myrtenol (1,17%), viridiflorol (2,83%).

Synergic Combinations

Blends well with: Clary sage (Salvia sclarea), Juniper berries (Juniperus communis), bergamot, cypress, vetiver, Sandalwood (Santalum album), Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin), Olibanum (Boswellia cartrii), Lavender (Lavendula officinales)

Historical

In ancient times, the resin was scraped from the fur of goats and sheep that had grazed on the cistus shrubs. It was collected by the shepherds and sold to coastal traders. The false beards worn by the pharaohs of ancient Egypt were actually the labdanum soaked hair of these goats. Later long poles with leather or cloth strips were used to sweep the shrubs and collect the resin which was later extracted.

Plant Description

There are 20 or so species of Cistus, all of which are evergreen shrubs. They come originally from the Canary Islands and countries bordering the Mediterranean. Cistus x cyprius, the common gum cistus, is a generally hardy, upright shrub, growing to 2m by 2m (6.5ft by 6.5ft). The flowers, which measure 10cm (4in) across, have yellow stamens in the centre, surrounded by five distinctive, deep crimson-red blotches, which look like dried blood. Labdanum, often called Labdanum gum is the resinous matter, which can be derived from this or other Cistus species.