About Our Eucalyptus Lemon Scented Ironbark Essential Oil
An uplifting and pleasant eucalyptus essential oil with a strong sweet lemony aroma. It has excellent antimicrobial and antibacterial properties, and also helps promote a soothing yet uplifting and energising environment.
This family farm has traditionally been operated for Tea Tree, and has recently started harvesting it's Eucalyptus Lemon Scented Ironbark.
Atherton Tablelands, Queensland
Hand & mechanical
Provides additional income
Steam distilled
History & Traditional Uses
A small to medium rough barked sclerophyll tree, growing up to 20 meters, solitary, straight, and bark persistent, Eucalyptus Lemon Scented Ironbark trees naturally occur in the east coast region of the Cape York Peninsula in Australia. An area near the Palmer River on Cape York Peninsula is a stronghold of the tree. The essential oil of Eucalyptus Lemon Scented Ironbark is extracted via steam distillation of the leaves and green branchlets.It is one of the more unique Eucalyptus aromas with a sweet, fresh, fruity-lemony aroma with a pleasant rosemary-like edge.
Little is known of it indigenous use at present. The leaves may have been used to enhance food and the timber used for tools.
Agriculture, Harvesting & Distilling
This oil did originally have limited availability, but now that we are discovering its wonderful lemony aroma and therapeutic benefits, it is now being planted out on reclaimed farmland as an oil producing crop.
Eucalyptus trees are managed as a bush for essential oil cropping. The leafy tops are removed using either hand cutting, or specialised equipment set up on small tractors (small enough to fit between the rows). The leafy material, twigs and small branchlets are fed into a large bin along the way, and when full, taken to the stillhouse, and lid sealed tightly. The bin is connected up to the distillation system, and steam is passed through the leafy material with careful supervision. The steam rises taking with it the volatiles (oil) and then travels through the condenser. As it cools, the result is the oil and water mixture, and the oils sits on top and the water is tapped off, leaving the oil. The water bi-product is known now as hydrosol, and also has a pleasant aroma.
