Canada is the third largest country in the world with an extremely diverse geographic and geological region covering climatic zones from polar to moderate continental. Extending from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west, north to the Arctic Circle and Ocean and south to the 49th parallel and the US border. Canada has nearly 25% of the available fresh water in the world, much of it in the Great Lakes and their watersheds. However, like many industrialized nations, this valuable water has been degraded by industrial and agricultural pollutants, and the destruction of the environment, primarily through logging, in and around the watershed basins.

Canada is most famous for Essential Oils from the conifer trees, although in truth we produce over 25 different oils from a wide variety of plant families and species. The conifers however, produce the largest number of oils, 10 in all with 6 coming just from the Pine family. As an introduction to this wealth of ‘little known’ aromatics I have selected two trees, one from the Spruce family (Picea) and one from the Fir family (Abies). The other two oils were chosen because, although they are produced in other countries, the Canadian varieties have specific attributes and chemical differences that give them a unique place in the Aromatherapists cupboard.

Black Spruce: Picea mariana. Yield: 0.3 - 0.5%
Chemistry: Monoterpenes: camphene 10-15%, a-pinene 13-16%, d-carene 5-15%; Sesquiterpenes; Alcohols; Sesquiterpene Alcohols; Esters: bornyl acetate 30-35%

A lance shaped evergreen 5 - 18m (15 - 55ft) tall, growing in damp, boggy conditions on acid soil from coast to coast in Canada and in the north-eastern coastal US states and Great Lakes regions. The needles are 4 sided in cross-section .5 - 1.5 cm (1/4 - 3/4") dull, blue-green in colour which tend to fall off when fully dry, making it unattractive as a Christmas tree! The branches, which droop slightly, are covered with tiny scale like needles in addition to the needles growing out from the surface. The cones, which hang down from the branch, may stay on the tree for 20 or more years and only release their seed when heated, thus the population grows dramatically after forest fires. This is the source of Spruce Beer, a First Nations brew, made by boiling new shoots with maple syrup, honey or molasses, a little yeast and water. This tonic was credited with preventing scurvy and malnutrition. Black Spruce wood is not used in manufacture due to its short height, but is popular in the pulp and paper industry. It is now widely used in reforestation programs, as it will grow in the wettest conditions or in the far north on very rocky, shallow soil.

The oil is antispasmodic, anti-infectious, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, and stimulates the thymus gland. It has an interesting cortisone-like effect through stimulation of the pineal-adrenal cortex axis and pineal-ovarian axis. A general system tonic and neurotonic, it rebuilds the adrenal glands prompting a new zest for life. One of the best ways to use Black Spruce is as a treatment for the adrenal glands: during your shower step out of the water and put 10-20 drops of neat essential oil on your hands, rub this all over the wet skin on your back around the adrenal area, count to 60 and rinse with cool/cold water. Do this daily for 3 weeks and you’ll feel like a new person.

Use for bronchitis, candidiasis, acne, dry excema, as an anti-parasitic, and for arthritic and rheumatic pains in combination with Scotch Pine. In cases of fatigue, immunodepression and Fibromyalgia the three week treatment of topical applications and internal use of the hydrosol can work wonders.

Achillea millefolium: Yarrow. Yield: 0.06 - 0.08%
Chemistry: Monoterpenes; Sesquiterpenes: chamazulene, dihydroazulene; Oxides; Ketones: camphor.

Yarrow oil is produced in France and many of the eastern European countries where the varieties tend to be triploid and produce a yellow-green essential oil with a new-mown hay odour. The Canadian variety is a diploid and produces sapphire blue oil, high in chamazulene, making it one of only a few blue essential oils. Yarrow is a perennial wild flower growing 60-90cm (2-3ft). The stem is rough and angular, the leaves alternate up the stem and are finely divided, almost feathery in appearance giving the name "millefolium" thousand-leaves. The flower heads rise above the leaves and are composed of hundreds of small flowers in flat terminal heads varying from white to pinks and mauves in the wild. Many modern, hybrid varieties are available in colours from yellow to red. The whole plant is more or less downy with white silky hairs. Yarrow is extremely invasive spreading by both seed and roots, becoming a dense mat in only a few years which require dividing if flowering is not to be reduced. It prefers well-drained soil in full sun and appears in wasteland after 4-5 years fallow.

It has a long history for meta-physical purposes, its stems being used for the 'I Ching' as long ago as 5000 years, for divination and spells in ancient Greece, and a multitude of witch craft activities throughout time. In the Middle Ages it was called Devil's Nettle and Devil's Plaything and used to 'give the sight', women sewed Yarrow flowers into their pillows to see their future husbands and keep them true, not surprising considering the medicinal properties of this plant. The fresh crushed leaves stop bleeding and the plant is named for Achilles, who healed his soldiers during the Trojan War. This 'herba militaria' was used up to the 17th century in battles.

A powerful anti-inflammatory, vulnerary, and cicatrisant, yarrow oil exhibits many of the same wound and skin healing properties as other high chamazulene oils, German Chamomile and Blue Tansy for instance. Topically its anti-inflammatory properties and oxide and camphor content provide anti-tussive and anticatarrhal effects, while internally it’s bitter principles make it an effective choleretic, just like the fresh herb. Use it for bronchitis and whooping cough, hepato-biliary weakness, kidney stones, and to aid poor digestion. Yarrow has exhibited interesting hormone balancing properties for dysmenorhea, and benign prostate inflammation. It is also particularly useful for nerve pain or damage as in neuralgia and sciatica, where its effects are enhanced by macerated St Johns Wort oil as a carrier.

The hydrosol unfortunately does not smell much like the beautiful oil, but is so useful one can forgive it anything. This should be the first choice for eczema and psoriasis where it stops the itching on contact and promotes healing of the new skin. A mild digestive and efficient detoxifier, use as part of a cleanse or to relieve the effects of overindulgence. Like the oil, it is antispasmodic, antiseptic and helps stop bleeding. Try yarrow hydrosol for a compress or sitz bath for varicose veins, hemorrhoids and cellulite treatments.

Contraindications for the oil: infants and, pregnant women as prolonged high dose use may be associated with some level of neurotoxicity. It is necessary to leave the distillation area during extraction.

Acorus calamus: Calamus root or Sweet Flag root. Yield: 0.6 - 0.7%.
Chemistry: Sesquiterpenes; sesquiterpene ketones: preisocalamendiol, isoshyobuyone. Canadian Calamus contains none of the neuro-toxic ketone, beta-asarone, making it completely safe for use in aromatherapy both internally and externally. European, Indian and Asian Calamus contain high levels of beta-asarone and should not be used for aromatherapy although it is a main flavouring ingredient in vermouth.

Calamus is a vigorous reed-like aquatic plant growing in ditches, the margins of streams and lakes and in bog or swampland. It's erect sword-like leaves grow 90 - 120cm (3-4ft) and resemble those of Yellow Flag although it is not an Iris. The leaf edges may have a crimped or wavy effect and grow to a sharp point and all parts of the plant have a unique agreeable odour. The flowers are a rush-like spathe or blunt spike, 2-4" long, somewhat curved and covered in very small greenish-yellow flowers, yellow-green to brown in colour. The plant gives off heat when in flower and this can be felt by placing the hands around and above the plant. The finger-thick rhizome is long, cylindrical and indefinitely branched, and grows deep in the mud or soil. The fruit is a berry full of mucus, which falls when ripe and disperses the seeds into the water.

Calamus is thought to originate from India but was carried as a trade item for perfumery and spread throughout Asia and Europe. The Bible mentions Calamus as do the Indian Vedic texts. By the 15th century it was being cultivated from Austria to Britain primarily for use as a strewing herb in churches where the leaves were spread and created an intoxicating perfume as they were walked upon. Knowing that the plant contains a toxin it is reasonable to assume that this intoxication was real and designed to make church-goers feel more ‘spiritual’! The ancient Arabs knew the medicinal application of the root, preparing tonics for digestion, appetite, gas and parasites and the whole plant or roots were sometimes boiled for inhalations and fumigations. The British Pharmacopeia lists 'Stockton Bitters' containing calamus for nervous complaints and hypochondriacal conditions! (Another case of intoxication?) The rhizome is sometimes candied both for medicinal and culinary use. In India the powdered root is used as a vermifuge and insecticide and has been found to destroy ants when sprinkled on the ground.

The essential oil has a most unique odour, and has long been an important ingredient in perfumery and a standard in men’s colognes. It is a peculiarly masculine aroma, almost animal-like and certainly men prefer it to women, perhaps that’s why it’s used in perfumery, to attract men! Therapeutically it is anti-catarrhal, mucolytic, and a digestive tonic relieving gas and increasing bile flow. Topically it is used for bronchitis, weak digestion, and improving hepato-biliary functions.

Calamus is a specific for the liver and both the oil and hydrosol can be used with Greenland Moss (Ledum groenlandicum) in topical compresses and poultices for liver infections, dysfunction, and hepatitis. French aromatherapy experiments with both topical and internal use of these two essential oils has yielded some very promising results for treating tumours and cancers in the liver and the hydrosols are worth further exploration.

Calamus is best known as a fixative and base note, the hydrosol makes a gently astringent after-shave on it’s own or combined with Sandalwood, Cedar wood, or Bay.

Abies balsamea, Balsam Fir. Yield: 0.4% - 1%
Chemistry: Monoterpenes 75-90%: alpha & beta pinene, camphene, limonene, d-3-carene; Esters 10-25%: bornyl acetate

An evergreen, growing 10-15m (30-45ft) in height, it is the most common "Christmas tree" due to it's pyramidal shape and highly aromatic scent. The needles, 3-4cm (1 -1.5") in length attach directly to, and cover both sides of, the branch. They are dark green on top with two white lines underneath and flat making them difficult to roll between the fingers. The cylindrical cones ripen in the year they are formed. Balsam Fir grows throughout the cool, damp boreal forests of Canada and north-eastern US states from the Atlantic provinces north to Hudson's Bay, around the Great Lakes and west along the snow line to Alberta. Balsam Fir is known for its medicinal properties in all countries where it grows, due to its strongly antiseptic nature. The First Nations used the resin topically for burns and wounds, even sealing large cuts in a manner similar to stitches. The resin was chewed to kill germs in the mouth, clean the teeth and sweeten the breath. Teas were prepared during the winter to ward off colds and get "green" food during the months of snow. In the spring, tea made from new growth was used as a vermifuge. The branches retain their suppleness even when dry and could be carried for long periods. Bathing with Balsam Fir helped deodorize the body, useful when baths were few and far between. Balsam Fir has a special affinity with moisture in the body, a barometer can be made form the tree top, stripped of its bark and hung up-side down. The branches will be horizontal in fair weather and point down for rain, and they work reliably for up to 2 years!

The oil is drying, antiseptic, antiparasitic, anti-spasmodic, and stimulating. Topical applications in dilutions of 10-20% are said to help prevent osteoporosis combined with exercise. Like all the trees it is helpful in respiratory complaints, rhinitis, bronchitis, sinusitis, even hiccups, wonderful in inhalations, simmer pots and diffusers during cold & flu season. Try a few drops on your real or artificial Christmas tree for the scent of the Canadian forest.

The hydrosols is a general tonic, supporting the immune system and working to reduce SAD (seasonal affected disorder). Mucolytic and expectorant, use as a base for cough syrups or inhalations. Compress neuralgic, rheumatic, arthritic and joint pain, perhaps in combination with Black Spruce water. An excellent addition to baths for winter blues or foot soaks for circulation and tired legs. Energetically expansive, it promotes honesty of emotions.

Bibliography
Catty, Suzanne. The Hydrosols Textbook (working title). Rochester, VT, Healing Arts Press, 2000.
Franchomme, Pierre & Penoel, Daniel, MD. L ’aromathérapie exactement. Limoges, Frances, Éditions Jollois, 1996.
Lauriault, Jean. Guide d’identification des Arbres du Canada. LaPrarie, Canada, Éditions Broquet, Musées nationaux du Canada, 1987.
Schnaubelt, Kurt. Advanced Aromatherapy. Rochester, VT, Healing Arts Press, 1998.