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| Cananga odorata |
PLANT | Cananga odorata | Cananga odorata An evergreen tree, 10-40 m tall, in cultivation often pruned to 3 m; trunk up to 75 cm in diameter, without buttresses; bark pale grey or silvery, smooth.
Branches drooping, or slightly erect with dangling leafy twigs; young twigs minutely pubescent, glabrescent. Leaves alternate, distichous, simple, exstipulate; petiole slender, 1-2 cm long, narrowly grooved, glabrous; blade elliptical to ovate-oblong, 13-29 cm x 4-10 cm, base often oblique, rounded cordate, margin more or less undulating, apex acutely acuminate, membranous, midrib and lateral veins mostly whitish-pubescent on both sides, secondary veins in 8-9 pairs, clearly visible on both sides, often with small, hairy, pitted glands in vein axils. Inflorescence a raceme, 1-4 cm long, with 2-6 flowers on short, leafless, axillary shoots, dangling in clusters of 1-3 from the older branches behind the leaves; flowers 5-7.5 cm long, bisexual, green turning light dull yellow, overpoweringly fragrant when mature; pedicel 2-5 cm long; sepals 3, ovate, 5-7 mm x 5 mm, reflexed; petals 6, in 2 whorls of 3, linear-lanceolate, 3-9 cm x 5-16 mm, often curled or wavy, with purple brown spot at the base inside; stamens numerous, closely arranged, linear, 2-3 mm long, with a broad, cone-shaped appendix of the connective; staminodes absent; carpels many, with slender style and discoid stigma. Fruit pendulous, consisting of many (7-16) separate, globose-obovoid monocarps, about 2.5 cm x 1.5 cm on stalk 1-2 cm long; monocarp dark green, ripening blackish, 2-12-seeded, with seeds embedded in yellow oily pulp arranged in 2 rows. Seed flattened, ellipsoid, 9 mm x 6 mm x 2.5 mm, pale brown, surface pitted, hard, with a rudimentary aril. The habit of C. odorata is typically a straggling, pendulous tree: branches and leaves droop, long leafy sprays may dangle for a length of 3-6 m, flowers hang in loose bunches, and the petals are flaccid. Although the trunk continues to the top of the tree, it is commonly bent. A dwarf variety of C. odorata known as var. fruticosa (Craib) Sinclair, is often seen in tropical gardens. It is a bush 1-1.5 m tall, with frequently supernumerary, very curly petals. It flowers throughout the year, but never sets fruits. It probably originates from Thailand. Two groups can be distinguished in cultivated C. odorata: cv. group Cananga (forma macrophylla Steenis), flowers are the source of cananga oil; branches perpendicular to the stem; leaves 20 cm x 10 cm; cultivated in Java, Fiji and Samoa; and cv. group Ylang-ylang (forma genuina Steenis), the source of ylang-ylang oil; branches more drooping; leaves smaller; probably originating from the Philippines and cultivated throughout the tropics.
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| Cananga odorata |
Uses
The essential oil of ylang-ylang is used in aromatherapy. It is believed to relieve high blood pressure, normalize sebum secretion for skin problems, and is considered to be an aphrodisiac.[citation needed] According to Margaret Mead, it was used as such by South Pacific natives such as the Samoan Islands where she did much of her research. The oil from ylang-ylang is widely used in perfumery for oriental or floral themed perfumes Ylang-ylang blends well with most floral, fruit and wood smells.
In Indonesia, ylang-ylang flowers are spread on the bed of newlywed couples. In the Philippines, its flowers, together with the flowers of the sampaguita, are strung into a necklace (lei) and worn by women and used to adorn religious images. Ylang-ylang's essential oil makes up 29% of the Comoros' annual export (1998).
The essential oil of ylang-ylang is used in aromatherapy. It is believed to relieve high blood pressure, normalize sebum secretion for skin problems, and is considered to be an aphrodisiac.[citation needed] According to Margaret Mead, it was used as such by South Pacific natives such as the Samoan Islands where she did much of her research. The oil from ylang-ylang is widely used in perfumery for oriental or floral themed perfumes Ylang-ylang blends well with most floral, fruit and wood smells.
In Indonesia, ylang-ylang flowers are spread on the bed of newlywed couples. In the Philippines, its flowers, together with the flowers of the sampaguita, are strung into a necklace (lei) and worn by women and used to adorn religious images. Ylang-ylang's essential oil makes up 29% of the Comoros' annual export (1998).
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| Cananga odorata |
Medicinal uses
Ylang Ylang is a common ingredient in the herbal motion sickness remedy, MotionEaze. According to Harris (2006), “treating skin diseases and promoting and maintaining skin health is of worldwide relevance and represents a multi-billion dollar market to the pharmaceutical, fragrance, cosmetics and toiletries industries. Aromatherapists have at their disposal remarkable tools that can simply and positively impact a range of commonly encountered skin conditions responsible for significant psychosocial distress. The aromatherapist is able to work at the level of the cutaneous interface not only through the judicious application of essential oils and their related products, but also through touch, olfaction and stress reduction with their subsequent positive impacts on skin health”.
Ylang Ylang is a common ingredient in the herbal motion sickness remedy, MotionEaze. According to Harris (2006), “treating skin diseases and promoting and maintaining skin health is of worldwide relevance and represents a multi-billion dollar market to the pharmaceutical, fragrance, cosmetics and toiletries industries. Aromatherapists have at their disposal remarkable tools that can simply and positively impact a range of commonly encountered skin conditions responsible for significant psychosocial distress. The aromatherapist is able to work at the level of the cutaneous interface not only through the judicious application of essential oils and their related products, but also through touch, olfaction and stress reduction with their subsequent positive impacts on skin health”.
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