Abstract

Linaloe oil is an essential oil which is extracted mainly from wood in Mexico, berries in Mysore and to a small extent from the seeds and leaves of the plant Bursera delpechiana Poiss ex Engl. and some of its allied species. The genus Bursera, a native of Tropical America includes between 40 and 50 species, many of which provide valuable resins and essential oils. According to Holmes (1910), Mexican linaloe oil is distilled chiefly from the wood and to a small extent from fruits (seeds) of closely related species of the genus Bursera, primarily B. delpechiana Poiss. and to a certain extent B. aloezylon (Schiede) Engl., B. glabrifolia (H. B. K.) Engl. and B. fagaroides Engl. var. ventricosa. Mexican producers call these trees as linaloe or in vernacular Copal limon. Albert R. Hill states that the Mexican species viz, Bursera penicillata and B. glabrifoliac Cayenne linaloe or bois-de-rose is derived from Aniba panurensis of Guianas, while Brazillian bois-de-rose is obtained from Aniba rosacodora var. amazonia, a tree of lower Amazon basins.

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