Geranium

Pelargonium species · Geraniaceae

Essential Oil Readily Available

See also

Used as a blend partner in

Agar Oil Lemon Petitgrain Oil Patchouli Oil Pimenta Berry Oil Rose de mai absolute

Notes

Summary monograph covering various types of geranium products and their geographic sources. Main producers include Morocco (concrète), Réunion (oil), Algeria, Russia, and others in smaller quantities.

Full Arctander text
#### Geranium (summary). Before going into the description of the individual types of geranium and geranium products, it would serve a practical purpose to list briefly the types which are available today: ##### Geranium Absolute and Geranium Concrète: The main producer of geranium concrète is Morocco. No concrète is produced in Réunion, Algeria or the Congo. Certain quantities of geranium concrète are processed in France to **Geranium Absolute**. Small quantities of geranium concrète and geranium absolute are produced in Italy from locally cultivated plants. ##### Geranium Oils: - The original oil, **French**** ****Geranium**** ****Oil,**** **whose production is at an all-time low, and is still decreasing. - The most important of today: **Réunion**** ****Geranium**** ****Oil,**** **amounting to more than 50% of the total world production of geranium oils. - The very popular but scarce oil, **Algerian Geranium Oil, **earlier known as **African**** ****Geranium**, and once the largest of all geranium oils. The production reached its peak in the late 1920's and early 1930's with annual outputs of about 150 metric tons of oil. Figures for the late 1950's fluctuate between 6 and 15 tons. - The recent and increasingly popular **Moroccan**** ****Geranium**** ****Oil**, produced in modern installations and in sizeable quantities. - The **Congo**** ****Geranium**** ****Oil,**** **produced in the Belgian Congo, Kenya, Tanganyika, Angola, etc. in small, but increasing quantities. - Central American geranium, produced in El Salvador on French financing. The oil has successfully passed the experimental stage. - Various geranium oils, produced in annual lots of one to two metric tons, and often used locally: Haiti, Corsica, Italy, Lebanon, India, Japan. - **Russian**** ****Geranium**** ****Oil,**** **produced in large quantities in the Crimean area and Caucasus, but entirely for domestic use. The present annual production (1959) is estimated at 50 to 55 metric tons. - **Mawah**** ****Oil**—see this heading. - **Zdravetz**** ****Oil**, see this monograph.