Elemi Oil Philippines
Elemi essential oil has a sparkling freshness in the top note, like a sweet lemon, and spicy peppery notes that give a diffused freshness, enhanced by a resinous facet in the heart. Allowed to diffuse for a while, it reveals a very medicinal side, with almost aromatic notes of thyme.
Elemi is used as a citrus fruit or in orientals, where it combines ambery heart notes with spicy base notes. Elemi combines perfectly with frankincense or myrrh.
Tropical tree native to the Philippines. It is also found in Brazil and Central America. Canarium luzonicum, which produces elemi resin, is a spontaneously growing tree of very large size: it can reach 20 metres in height. Its fruit is used locally in food preparations.
Elemi resin is obtained by pathological exudation, i.e. an incision is made in the bark of the tree during the leaf sprouting period, from June to February. During these months (rainy season), the resin is exuded in greater quantities. This cutting technique, which consists of removing strips of bark from the tree, is called tapping. The person who makes the cuts is called the tapper. Harvesting stops from March to May when the trees are in defoliation (losing their leaves).
The rubber that flows from the cuts in the trunk is harvested while it is still malleable enough to be put in wooden crates for transport. It retains the square shape of the boxes until it is cut into pieces to be distilled.
Elemi resin was introduced to Europe in the Middle Ages, where it was used in the composition of numerous ointments and balms to relieve respiratory problems and heal wounds. In the 18th century, it was included in the basic pharmacopoeia of the ‘King’s hospitals’.
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