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Mediterranean
Essential Oil Plants
Medicinal
plants from the Mediterranean countries form the backbone of essential
oils currently used in aromatherapy. The major producing countries
for Mediterranean oils are France, Spain, Morrocco, Tunisia, Italy,
Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Turkey and Egypt. Most of these sun-soaked
plants belong to the lipflower or "mint" family (Labiatae/Lamiaceae)
and exhibit an extraordinary range of medicinal effects that have
been used in herbal medicine for several thousand years and in aromatherapy
for over five-hundred years. |
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 True
lavender, Lavandula angustifolia, is cultivated and the essential
oil extracted mainly in the South of France, Bulgaria, England and
Tasmania. These two gentlemen are French growers and producers of
organic Lavender, Lavendin and other medicinal lipflowers. |
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 Graceful
billows of purple appear over the hills and valleys in June and July
all over Provence. They prefigure the subtle floral scent of the steam-distilled
oil: a sublimely soft floral-green with a hint of camphor to invite
us in and a subtle woodiness to settle us down. |
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 A
bee landing on lavender. Note the short flower spike, which distinguishes
true lavender from the other lavenders, most of which are hybrids
that have longer, more decorative flower spikes. |
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 French
distillation rigs resemble off-shore oil-rigs with their platforms,
except that they are surrounded by waves of plants instead of ocean
waves. This still can process over 500 kilos of lavender at a time,
which take over an hour to properly distill at the low temperature
required to make a high-quality full-spectrum oil. |
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