Cropwatch 5.
Threatened & Vulnerable Species: A List of Essential Oils Recommended by Cropwatch Not to Be Used in Aromatherapy.
Copyright Ó Tony Burfield & Chrissie Wildwood Sept 2004.
Name of commodity |
Botanical Name |
Geographic Origin |
Status of plant |
Amyris oilsyn.W.I sandalwood |
Amyris balsamifera L. |
Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico. |
Vulnerable: TB (2004); Joulain (1999). |
Agarwood oil, resinoids, CO2 extracts etc.syn. Aloeswood, Malacca eaglewood. |
Aquilaria & Gonystylus spp. |
India, Malaysia, Indonesia |
A. beccarianavan Tieghem.Vulnerable: IUCNA. crassna Pierre ex H. LecomteCritically Endangered: IUCNA. cumingiana (Decne) Ridley Vulnerable: IUCNA. hirta RidleyVulnerable: IUCNA. malaccensis Lam.[some say syn. A. agallocha Roxb.] Listed under CITES (1995) Appendix II Vulnerable: IUCN A. microcarpa Baill. Vulnerable: IUCN A. rostrata Ridley Rare; only in Malaya A. sinensis (Lour.) Gilg. Vulnerable: IUCN |
Anise Scented Myrtle Oil |
Backhousia anisata Vickery(now renamed Anetholia anisata) |
Bellinger and Nambucca valleys of NE part of NSW, Australia. |
Vulnerable: due to commercial exploitation: TB (2004).
|
Buchu oils |
Agathosma betulina (Bergius) Bartl. & Wendl.& A. crenulata (L.) Pillans |
S. Africa |
Vulnerable: TB (2003) |
Calamus oil, India |
Acorus calamus L. |
India |
Becoming rare: CIMAP (1997) |
Cedarwood Oil Atlas |
Cedrus atlantica (Endl.) Manetti ex Carr |
Morocco, Algeria |
Threatened: (TB 2003) Under investigation for possible Red List entry: UNEP-WCMC |
Cedarwood oil, Kenyan |
Juniperus procera Hochst. Ex Endl. |
Kenya |
Endangered: FAO (1986) Lower risk/near threatened: IUCN |
Cinnamomum oils |
Certain spp. of Cinnamomum genus. |
China; India |
Vulnerable: Some Chinese oil-bearing spp: Zhu et al. (1994) Cinnamomum tamala: “Nearly threatened”: CIMAP (1997) |
Costus oil, concr., abs. |
Saussurea lappaCB Clarke |
Kashmir, Sikkim, SW China |
Protected: CITES (2003) Appendix I |
Ginger-lily oil, abs. |
Hedychium coronarium Koenig |
India, Hawaii |
Endangered in some areas: CIMAP (1977) |
Indian Wintergreen oil |
Gaultheria fragrantissma Wall. |
India |
Considerable depletion in wild esp. S. India CIMAP (1977) |
Havozo bark oil |
Ravensara anisata (pseudonym for R. aromatica) Danguy et Choux |
Madagascar |
Vulnerable: TB (2004)
See footnote 2 |
Hinoki Wood Oil |
Chamaecyparis obtusa (Siebold & Zucc.) Endl |
Japan |
Protected: Japanese Govt. from 1982. Lower risk/near threatened: IUCN |
Inula racemosa oil |
Inula racemosa Hook f. |
Alpine W. Himalaya |
Vulnerable: Red Data Book of Indian Plants (1988) Under threat in Himal Pradesh: Chauhan (1988) |
Jurinia (Dhoop) roots, rhizomes |
Jurinea dolomiaea Boiss. |
India, Nepal, Pakistan |
Depletion in most areas: CIMAP (1977) |
Kapur Kachari oil |
Hedychium spicatum Smith |
India: Himalaya |
Vulnerable in Uttar Pradesh & Himachal Pradesh: CIMAP (1997) |
Mountain tobacco oil, extracts |
Arnica montana L. |
Spain, Romania |
Protected: Annex D of CoE Regulations (EC) No. 338/97 & Annex V of the EU Habitats, Fauna and Flora Directive (EUROPA 2003) |
Orchid Oilsexcept Vanilla spp. |
Various spp. of Orchidaceae |
Widely distributed |
Orchidaceae: protected CITES (2003) & EC reguln. 338/97 (annex B) |
Parmelia (Lichen) oil, absolutes, extract |
Parmelia nepalensis Tayl. Hook. |
Nepal |
Export of plant banned: Nelapese Govt 1993. Does not apply to processed material.6 |
Rosewood Oilaka Bois de Rose oil |
Aniba rosaedora var. amazonica Ducke & other A. spp. |
Brazil |
Endangered: IUCNThreatened: IBAMA, Brazil (1992) |
Rosewood Oil |
Ocotea caudata (Nees) Mez. & other Ocotea oils |
Brazil |
Many Ocotea oils endangered: Cropwatch (2004) |
Santalum acuminatum “Sweet Quandong” |
Santalum acuminatum (R. Br.) A. DC |
Temperate & W. Australia |
Protected: in S. Australia (law not respected: Holiday 1989)4 (not used for oil production) |
Sandalwood Oil East African |
Osyris lanceolata Hochst. & Steud. |
Tanzania |
Threatened: Cropwatch 3 (2004) |
Sandalwood Oil E.I. |
Santalum album L. |
India |
Vulnerable: IUCN Oil Export controlled by Madras & Mysore Govts. |
Sandalwood Hawaii |
Santalum haleakala Hbd. |
Hawaii |
Vulnerable: IUCN |
Sandalwood oil Hawaii |
Santalum fernandezianum F. Phillipi |
Hawaii |
Extinct: IUCN |
Santalum insulare |
Santalum insulare Bertero ex A. DC. |
French Polynesia |
Insufficient data: Cropwatch (2004) |
Santalum lanceolatum oil “Plum bush” |
Santalum lanceolatum R. Br.(Hewson & George 1984) |
Australia Queensland, NSW, Victoria, W. Australia |
Endangered: in Victoria & a threatened taxon under Schedule 2 of the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988) |
Santalum murrayanum “Bitter Quandong” |
Santalum murrayanum (T.L. Mitchell) C.A. Gardner |
Temperate & W. Australia |
Protected: in S. Australia (law not respected: Holiday 1989)4 (little if any oil produced). |
Sandalwood oil New Caledonia |
Santalum austrocaledonicum Vieill. var. austrocaledonicum |
New Caledonia |
Depleted: Cropwatch (2004) |
Sandalwood Papua New Guinea |
Santalum macgregorii Fv.Mueller |
Papua New Guinea |
Endangered: IUCN |
Sandalwood oil Australian |
Santalum spicatum (R. Br.) A. DC |
Northern S. Australia & S.W. Australia |
Protected in some
reserves. |
Sandalwood Oil Vanuatu |
Santalum austro-caledonicum Vieill. |
Vanuatu (Pacific) |
Threatened: FAO Insufficient data: Cropwatch (2004) |
Santalum yasi |
Santalum yasi Seem. |
Tonga, Fiji |
Depleted, sites often inaccessible: Cropwatch (2004) |
Sassafras Oil Brazilian |
Ocotea pretiosa (Nees) Mez. |
Brazil |
Vulnerable: IUCN |
Siam Wood Oil |
Fokienia hodginsii (Dunn) A. Henry & H. Thomas |
Africa |
Lower risk/Near threatened: IUCN |
Spikenard oil aka Jatamansi oil |
Nardostachys grandiflora DC; some say akaN. jatamansi DC |
Nepal1, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh |
Protected: CITES (2000) Appendix II Depleted: CIMAP (1997) Plant extraction from wild banned in Uttar Pradesh.3 Oil export figures under reported to avoid tax7 |
Footnotes to table.
1An initiative for Nardostachys spp. cultivation between NGO & Nepalese farmers is in place but carries no environmental impact studies (Cropwatch: unpublished information)
2Rosoanaivo (1997) Med Plant Conservn 4(9) estimates 100 tons stem bark per year are destructively harvested.
3 Plant extraction from wild banned in Uttah Pradesh;
http://www.cites.org/eng/cttee/PC/10/PC10-Inf2.pdf
4Holiday (1989) Australian Trees Hamlyn Australia.
5 Zhu L., Ding D. & Lawrence B.M. (1994) “The Cinnamomum species in China: Resources for the present and future” Perf & Flav. 19, July/Aug 1994, 17-22.
6 Approx 1000 tons/annum lichen processed for aroma & incense industry (Cropwatch: unpublished information).
7. Amatya G. & Sthapit VM (1994) “A note on Nardostachys jatamansi” J Herbs, Spices & Med Plants 2(2) 39-47.
Species Sold into Aromatherapy & Perfumery which are Threatened from Animal Grazing (preventing flowering). Cessation of Trading (not recommended) would promote Hardship to Gatherers.
Frankincense oil, gum-oleoresin, resinoid etc. |
Boswellia carteri Birdw.[some say syn. B. sacra] |
Somalia, Oman, Yemen |
Low risk/Near threatened: (B. sacra) IUCN (1997)Hardship information:(Unep-WCMC) |
Essential Oil-Bearing Species sold into Aromatherapy Threatened/Vulnerable in Specific Locations.
Name of commodity |
Botanical Name |
Geographic Origin |
Status of plant |
Artemisia vulgaris oil |
Artemisia vulgaris L. |
E. Europe. |
Vulnerable (Cropwatch 2004) |
Thyme oil Spain |
Thymus. zygis Loefl. ex L. subsp. gracilis Boiss R. Morales |
Spain |
Threatened; no monitoring by authorities (Lange 1998)1 |
White sage oil |
Salvia apiana Jepson |
S. California USA |
Threatened (Cropwatch 2004) Listed as “To Watch”United Plant Savers |
Footnote to table
1 Lange (1988) Europe’s Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: their use, trade and conservation. Traffic Europe 1998.
Notes.
1. The lists are not exhaustive, and do not generally include low risk/near threatened species sold into aromatherapy such as Cupressus sempervirens (Cedarleaf oil) and Callitris columellaris (Australian Cypress pine oil).
2. Species which are commonly used as incense ingredients are coloured blue-green.
3. Agarwood qualities are placed in an enlarged section because these products are commonly sold into aromatherapy (as incense products) & fine fragrances (as essential oil). CO2 extracted plantation-grown artificially infected agarwood products etc. are available on the oils market, but have yet to gain widespread acceptance.
4. Rosewood species have an expanded pink coloured section because other ‘rosewood oils’ - e.g. from Ocotea spp. - are sold into aromatherapy. Batches of plantation-grown rosewood leaf oil seen by the author (TB) have been of poor odour quality compared with the normal oil.
5. Sandalwood species from different origins have an expanded section (in yellow) because there is confusion about their exact status in the minds of many aromatherapists. Pressure on Indian government officials to ignore sandalwood smuggling by gangland characters has even involved kidnap and threats of beheading (see http://chrissie-wildwood.com/TEMPTATION-IN-EDEN)
6. Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP). From: Indian Medicinal Plants Facing Genetic Erosion CIMAP (1997) Lucknow (Pub CIMAP 1997)
7. TB (2003): see www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~nodice/new/magazine/products/products.htm
8. IUCN list: see www.redlist.org
9. The Ethical Consumer Association are now asking consumers to boycott oils and herbs from endangered, threatened and at-risk species (and products containing extracts from such sources). See http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/boycotts/boycottnews.htm
10. Cropwatch (2003): see www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~nodice/
11. Cropwatch (2004): unpublished information
12. CITES: Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Official documents: appendices I, II and III. http://www.cites.org/eng/append/latest_appendices.shtml
13. See other information on threatened species in the aroma & herb trades on http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~nodice/ and http://chrissie-wildwood.com/