Tea Tree essential oil has a fresh, strong medicinal aroma with sweet woody notes as it evaporates. The plant is now widely recognised for its antibacterial, antiseptic, antiviral, and antifungal qualities and historically was used by the Australian Aborigines for its healing powers.
- Latin Name
- Melaleuca Alternifolia
- Family
- Myrtaceae
- Note
- Middle to Top
- Extraction
- Essential oil by steam or water distillation from the leaves and twigs.
- Constituents
- Terpinene, cineol, pinene, terpinenes, cymere, sesquiterpenes, sesquiterpene alcohols among others.
- Origin
- Australia
The Tree
The Tea Tree tree is a small tree with needle-like evergreen leaves often with flaky exfoliating bark. When the tree is cut down, it flourishes and is ready for cutting again in two years.
History
The name Tea Tree derives from its local usage as a type of herbal tea prepared from the leaves. The Aborigines used it extensively for a variety of medicinal purposes including infections and headaches. Our present knowledge of the properties and uses for Tea Tree are based on a very long history of use by the Aboriginal people.
