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Conventional or organic available Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis) , also known as goat nut, deer nut, pignut, wild hazel, quinine nut, coffeeberry, and gray box bush, is native to South-western North America. The plant came to prominence in the late 1970s when scientists found that the liquid wax from the jojoba bean has a strikingly similar structure to the natural wax esters in human skin. The CSIRO introduced the plant to Australia in 1978 and selectively bred certain varieties especially suited to Australian conditions. Commercial plantations are now established across the country, including at Kalannie, Wagin, Geraldton and York in Western Australia. A shrubby bush which usually grows between 3-6 feet, though occasionally taller, the leaves are up to 1 ½” long, thick with a waxy gray-green coloration. The flowers are small with a green-yellow color and contain no petals. The plant is usually dioecious, either male or female, with both sexes needed to produce the fruit. Occasionally there are hermaphrodite plants but this is rare. The plants can live between 100-200 years. While often solitary in growth, jojoba’s can produce ground based shoots and form into thickets.

Conventional or organic available The Almond tree (Prunus dulcis) is a member of the Rosaceae (rose) family, along with many other tree fruits such as peaches, apples, pears, plums, cherries, and apricots. The almond is a small bushy deciduous tree with beautiful pink blossoms and highly prized edible nuts enclosed in a hard green hull. It’s a small to medium sized tree with a spreading, open canopy, usually 10-15 feet in commercial orchards. It is an excellent, self-pollinating almond that bears heavy crops of soft-shelled almonds with a good, sweet flavor. The kernels are broad, full and oval in shape. The tree has an upright form that is a self-pollinating papershell. Almonds require a climate with dry summer/autumns and cool winters. Almond and related species are native to the Mediterranean climate region of the Middle East. The original plantings and beginning of the almond industry in Australia occurred in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia. The industry expanded into the South Australian Riverland in the 1960s and then along the Murray River in the 1970s. The Australian almond industry is concentrated in NSW, SA and Victoria with almost 29,000 ha of cultivated almond trees.

Conventional or organic available A thick carrier oil, rich in Vitamin E and fatty acids, Castor Oil is cold pressed from the bean/seeds from the castor plant naturally found in Africa, India and South America. This soothing, versatile, multi-purpose vegetable oil is pale yellow in color with a mild odor. A gentle oil, it has valuable moisturizing properties and is useful in skin care and hair care products.

Conventional or organic available Argan oil is quickly becoming one of the world's most celebrated carrier oils. A very beloved and popular oil in the cosmetic industry, this beautiful oil is cold pressed from the kernels found inside the fruit of argan trees. Argan oil has been used for over 3500 years for its moisturizing properties for skin and hair and for skin blemishes and to help heal scars in its native Morocco. It is believed to have its origins is a small rural village known as Argana. The Argan tree grows wild in this region of Morocco and thrive in this vast and rugged environment where many other species of plants and animals struggle. With a light, nutty aroma, this oil is very rich in vitamin A and E and monosaturated fatty acids giving it incredible conditioning, moisturizing and anti-aging properties, and helping to make it a valuable ingredient in skin care and hair care.

Eucalyptus citriodora is a tall tree, growing up to 40 meters in height (but sometimes taller), from temperate and tropical north eastern Australia. It is one of the most popular eucalyptus trees grown throughout Melbourne in Australia, which is its native country. This species is believed to have originated from a restricted area of Queensland on the Tropic of Capricorn, and is now found growing throughout the world’s tropical climates. It is also known as lemon-scented gum, blue spotted gum, lemon eucalyptus. It has smooth, pale, uniform or slightly mottled bark, white to coppery in summer, and a conspicuously narrow-leaved crown which smells strongly of lemons. Pear-shaped buds are borne in clusters of three, formed in the corner of leaf and stem junctions, whilst fruit (capsules) are urn-shaped. The bark is smooth for the entire height of the tree, often powdery shedding in thin curling flakes. It prefers lighter, slightly acidic loamy soils and occurs in dry sclerophyll forest and woodlands in hilly country. All species of eucalyptus leaves have been used in traditional Aboriginal bush medicine for thousands of years. Infusions made of E. citriodora leaves were taken internally to reduce fevers and ease gastric conditions, and applied externally as a wash for the analgesic, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties. Aborigines would make leaves into a poultice and apply them to ease joint pain and speed up the healing of cuts, skin conditions, wounds and infections. Respiratory infections, colds and sinus congestion were treated by inhaling the vapors of steamed leaves, and to treat rheumatism the leaves were made into beds or used in steam pits heated by fire. The therapeutic qualities of the leaves and its essential oil were eventually introduced and integrated into many traditional medicine systems, including Chinese, Indian Ayurvedic and Greco-European. Find out more about our 8 other species of Eucalyptus in the video below and discover the different uses of their essential oils in our Essence of Eucalyptus blog post.

Conventional or organic available The Apricot tree (Prunus armeniaca) is the most commonly cultivated apricot species. It is a small tree that grows up to 12 meters tall with a dense, spreading canopy. The fruits, which ripen to orange or yellowish orange, sometimes tinged with red, have soft flesh surrounding a hard, flattened stone, containing a kernel within. Apricot oil is pressed from the seed of the fruit. It has a clear light texture and is easily absorbed by the skin and full of nutrients and rich in essential fatty acids and is an excellent moisturizer.