Petitgrain essential oil is derived from the fresh leaves and green twigs of the bitter orange tree, Citrus aurantium and its various sub-species. Bitter orange belongs to the Rutaceae family and is believed to have originated in South-East Asia where it later spread to North-Eastern India, Burma and China, eventually finding its way via Arab traders to Africa, Arabia and Syria.

From these regions it was taken to the Mediterranean by the Moors, and by the end of the 12th century it was cultivated in Seville, Spain, thereby leading to the common name for bitter oranges.
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Rosemary is an attractive, evergreen, shrubby herb that belongs to the Lamiaceae family and grows wild throughout Mediterranean countries where it is believed to have originated.

The upright form of this herb can reach a height of 1.8 metres, although there are other forms such as R. officinalis var. prostratus, which is a creeping variety that is often grown in rock gardens or for ground cover.

The narrow fragrant leaves of rosemary are dark green on the upper surface, with undersides that are paler and matted with thick hair. During spring, the small and delicate, tubular, blue-white flowers begin to blossom on the tips of the leaves, and can remain in bloom throughout the summer.
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If you have not visited Quinessence.com for a little while you may be unaware of the exciting additions we have made to our Aromatherapy Collection. Many of these items were requested by our visitors and customers, so hopefully you will like what you see.

Brand new for 2008 is a new Ceramic Vaporiser, a personal Inhaler to help keep all those nasty flu bugs away, and a choice selection of great eBooks. And over the coming months we will be adding more categories to our collection of eBooks to bring you a wider choice of topics within the areas of health, well-being and self-development.
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