Texas Cedarwood Oil

#### Cedarwood Oil, Texas. Practically unknown 30 years ago, the oil of **Juniperus**** ****Mexicana**** **to-day ranks among the "over 100-tons-a-year" oils, and it enjoys the steady interest of perfumers and an increasing interest of the manufacturers of aromatic chemicals. The tree, which is a small and poor-looking relative of the cypress, grows abundantly in the southwestern parts of Texas, toward the south in Mexico and Central America. The oil is steam distilled from the heartwood of this tree which is felled exclusively for the purpose of producing the essential oil. Distillation takes place mainly in Texas, U. S. A. However, the crude oil is often rectified by the large essential oil and perfume houses in New Jersey, U.S.A. **Crude**** ****Cedarwood Oil**, Texas is a dark orange to brownish, turbid or clear, somewhat viscous liquid. Considerable amounts of crystals deposit from the oil on standing. In cold weather the oil may become entirely solid. The odor of the crude oil is pleasant, sweet-woody, yet somewhat tar-like or cade-like, smoky. On drying it becomes increasingly balsamic-sweet and it shows great tenacity with a uniform, sweet-woody dryout. Rectified (redistilled, steam-redistilled, etc.) oil **of**** ****Juniperus**** ****Mexicana**** **is pale yellow or almost colorless. Its odor is less tar-like, less cade-like or smoky than that of the crude oil. The dryout is clean, sweet-woody with the typical "pencilsharpener"-odor. This type of rectified oil is not the most common of the Texas cedarwood oils. It is customary to fractionate the crude oil during the re-distillation. A "light" fraction consists mainly of sesquiterpenes and it presents the dry-woody part of the cedarwood notes. It has only poor fixative effect but great odor-masking ability. The "heavy" fractions consist mainly of cedrenol and cedrol. These sesquiterpene alcohols can be isolated in a more or less pure state. They are solid materials of weak, but very pleasant, woody-balsamic odor. It has been claimed that these materials are virtually odorless when absolutely pure. The commercial grades do have pleasant odors and are not always white, dry crystals. The sesquiterpenes can be chemically converted into some highly interesting perfume materials while the solid cedrenol serves as is or in the form of its acetate (usually liquid). The crude oil as well as the rectified oil are used extensively in perfumery. The rectified oil is generally preferred when dark perfume color may be a problem. As a blender for ionones and methylionones, cinnamic alcohol, nitromusks, ambre bases and leather bases, patchouli, pine, spruce, vetiver oil, etc., the oil of **Juniperus Mexicana **(Texas cedar- wood oil) is a most versatile material for the creative perfumer. The oil is readily available, and at a very attractive cost. See also **Cedarwood**** ****Oil,**** ****East**** ****Africa**.