With the cold and flu season upon us, now is the time to stock up on Eucalyptus. This genus is a member of the Myrtle family and mostly native to Australia. There are over 700 species of Eucalyptus, collectively called Eucalypts. The flowers of the Eucalypts provide abundant nectar for pollinating insects, birds and bats and the leaves are the main food source for the Koala bear. The vaporized oil from the leaves causes a distinct blue haze in the air on hot days. The oil is extremely flammable and the trees can self-combust causing bush fires. The trees are able to soak up vast quantities of water and are able to dry up swamps.
The medicinal qualities of Eucalyptus have been documented since the 1700s. Extraction method for the essential oil is steam distillation of the leaves. Three more common varieties of oil are Eucalyptus Globulus, Eucalyptus Radiata and Eucalyptus Citriodora. The therapeutic qualities these three share are: Antiseptic, anti-infectious, antibiotic, expectorant, and febrifuge. E. Citriodora and E. Globulus are also fungus fighters. Eugenia Essentials uses E. Citriodora as one of the oils in our “Freshen Foot Soak” blend.
Eucalyptus Radiata feels cooling when rubbed on the skin and can assist in relieving tight cramped muscles. But when it comes to respiratory ailments, all the Eucalypts can offer relief when used as a chest rub in a carrier oil, or one or two drops in a steam or as a general air purifier in a room diffuser. Eucalyptus increases mental clarity and alertness and would be good in a car diffuser on long road trip or to sniff in an inhaler during study or before a major test.
E. Globulus should not be used with children under the age of twelve.
Sun, Nov 8, 2009
Essential Oils