Family: Lauraceae

Synonyms: Bois De Rose, Pau Rosa.

Aroma: Warm, woody, sweet, floral.

Colour: Colourless to pale yellow.

Plant: A slow growing evergreen tropical tree with a reddish bark and heartwood.

Main Growing Areas: Brazil.

Major Constituents: a-pinene, linalool, alpha-terpineol, 1,8 cineole, cis-linalool oxide.

Interesting snippets: Most rosewood timber goes to Japan to make chopsticks.

Part of Plant used / Extraction: The trunk wood from 30-40 year old trees is reduced to chips which are then steam distilled to produce the essential oil. 500 kg of chips produces 5 kg of essential oil.

Therapeutic actions: Dry, sensitive inflamed skin, acne, headaches accompanied by nausea.

Emotional and Spiritual: Tiredness, nervousness, stress.
Robbi Zeck writes that rosewood enables a greater receptivity to different kinds of awareness, sensory perceptions and energy streams that roam within the labyrinth of your unconscious mind. If you are feeling blocked in some area of your life, then seek interior guidance and make a request for what you need to experience in order to see the truth behind things.

Aromatherapy Insight Card:

RECEPTIVITY
Grow in life with balance by being receptive to all that is possible. Rosewood helps you to trust your sometimes-unused wise feelings, heightening perceptions and enabling you to “see past the trees”. Utilize all of your senses to help you grow. Open up and be receptive to the abundance of the universe.

Safety: Non-irritating, non-sensitising, non-toxic.

Sources: Bowles E.J, The A to Z of Essential Oils. New Burlington Books (2003)
Davis, P, Aromatherapy, An A-Z. The C.W.Daniel Company Ltd. (1996)
Jefferies J, Osborn. K, Aromatherapy Insight Cards. Living Energy, Aust. (2nd Ed. 2005)
Kerr, J, Rosewood Essential Oil Profile. Aromatherapy Today, Vol.7 (1998)
Zeck R, The Blossoming Heart. Aroma Tours (2004)