Juniper leaves EO

Latin name :

Juniperus communis L

Botanical profile :

Juniper belongs to the Cupressaceae family and to the Juniperus genus.

Geographic origin :

It can be found in abundance throughout Europe but also in the USA as well as in Central Asia and North Africa. Cultivation for perfumes are mainly in Macedonia and Bulgaria.

Chemotypes :

There are about 600 different species of conifers- among them is the Juniperus genus.
A few species of the Juniperus genus are used in perfumery, the most commonly encountered are Cedarwood Virginia EO (Juniperus virginiana), Cedarwood Texas EO (Juniperus mexicana) and Cade EO (Juniperus Oxycedrus).
Finally, there are other species of juniper, such as the dwarf juniper (Juniperus alpina), from the Alps and the Corsican montains, cultivated for its branches, the Himalayan juniper (Juniperus indica) or the thuriferous juniper (Juniperus thurifera), among others.

Extraction process :

Juniper (Juniperus Communis) is a tree containing essential oil in its branches as well as in its berries. The production of Juniper leaves EO is much rarer than Juniper Berry EO. This is because the essential oil from the berries is a by-product of the production of Gin, the popular spirit. However, to obtain the essential oil from the branches, the process is different as the extraction is done on the branches AND the berries by hydrodistillation. The yield is between 2 and 5%. This makes a difference to the process because the presence of branches prevents the production of gin, the main reason for the cultivation of this tree.

Major Components :

Data not available.