Plant Description

History and Origin

Our Northern wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) likes to grow in coniferous regions; and it grows better in sandy soils. Its generic name has been given for Jean-François Gaulthier (1708-1756), botanist and King’s physician in Quebec. He was the one who communicated the existence of the plant to Linné through Pier Kalm. Wintergreen grows as a shrub below 20 cm tall and bears between June and July white flowers that transform into tiny red fruits. Its leaves are evergreen, and that is where its common name came from “Wintergreen”. Wintergreen is present in Canada, Asia and Central America, where it grows much taller. For distillation, it would not be wise to collect the resource here, since it is so reduced in size. That is why the essential oil is imported from Nepal, where it grows abundantly in the wild and in altitude

Plant Description

History and Origin

Yarrow is a perennial plant largely distributed in Quebec's dry lands such as fields, shores and seaside rocks. It was named after the famous character, Achilles, who used it to heal the wounds of his soldiers during the Trojan War. As you can see, yarrow has thousands of years of experience in terms of healing the wounds of humans. It is so ancient in medicinal use that traces of yarrow were found in Neanderthal burials. Yarrow stands among the most versatile plants on Earth, and its highly complex chemical composition is an indicator of its numerous functions.

Used all over the world, it is also one of the most important medicinal plants of Amerindians, who use it as a cold remedy, febrifuge, analgesic, dermatological and respiratory aid, diuretic, gastrointestinal aid, and a relief for different hormonal disorders for women .

Plant Description

History and Origin

This essential oil is extracted from a small tree that comes from Indo-Malaysian tropical areas. Subsequently, the tree was naturalized by the European explorers in most of the tropical islands of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Ocean. The Latin name of ylang-ylang « Cananga » is simply derived from the original name of the plant in Malay (Kananga ou Kénanga).

The distillation of ylang is special. The first tests were recorded in 1860 by a sailor named Albert Schwenger. The delicate fragrance began to be used in the perfumery field and a unique extraction method was developed. The essential oil is collected in several steps during the distillation process, that is why we can find the names totum, complete (12 to 24 hours of distillation continuously), extra (first hour of distillation), no 2 and no 3.