Helichrysum stoechas

Last updated

Helichrysum stoechas
HELICHRYSUM STOECHAS - AGUDA - IB-813 (Sempreviva borda).JPG
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Helichrysum
Species:
H. stoechas
Binomial name
Helichrysum stoechas
(L.) Moench

Helichrysum stoechas, known as Mediterranean strawflower, curry plant, or eternal flower, is an annual or perennial shrub (depending on locale) that prefers dry, rocky and sandy areas. It can grow up to 120 centimeters (47 inches) in height, and spreads over 1 square meter (3 feet 3 inches) in area. It is a hermaphrodite that has grayish green leaves and produces small globular yellow flowers sometimes in the Spring or in July and August that are pollinated by insects. [1]

Uses

Extracts of Helichrysum stoechas have been used in traditional medicine to treat colds, as a nerve tonic, to reduce inflammation, and facilitate the healing of bruises. [2] There have been a number of studies of the phytochemical and pharmacological properties of the constituents of its flowers, stems and foliage which have confirmed that it has an inhibitory effect on some bacteria and viruses. [3]

Due to the intense fragrance of its leaves and flowers, Helichrysum stoechas is used in perfumery and aromatherapy as a fixative in both its essential oil and floral absolute form. Like other Helichrysums, it has a warm, sweet, caramellic hay, fruity, honey, tobacco, tonka organoleptic profile. [4]

The essential oil (CAS Registry Number 91845-22-6) is typically produced in Southern Europe around the Mediterranean, and the floral absolutes are produced in Egypt. The predominant active constituents are nerol acetate, curcumin, pinene, limonene, kaempherol, quercetin, luteolin, linalool, and geraniol, in addition to other flavonoids, sesquiterpenes and hydrocarbons. [3] [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chervil</span> Species of plants

Chervil, sometimes called French parsley or garden chervil, is a delicate annual herb related to parsley. It was formerly called myrhis due to its volatile oil with an aroma similar to the resinous substance myrrh. It is commonly used to season mild-flavoured dishes and is a constituent of the French herb mixture fines herbes.

<i>Lavandula</i> Genus of plants

Lavandula is a genus of 47 known species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It is native to the Old World and is found in Cape Verde and the Canary Islands, and from Europe across to northern and eastern Africa, the Mediterranean, southwest Asia to India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lemon balm</span> Species of plant

Lemon balm is a perennial herbaceous plant in the mint family and native to south-central Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, Iran, and Central Asia, but now naturalised elsewhere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose</span> Genus of plants

A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus Rosa, in the family Rosaceae, or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be erect shrubs, climbing, or trailing, with stems that are often armed with sharp prickles. Their flowers vary in size and shape and are usually large and showy, in colours ranging from white through yellows and reds. Most species are native to Asia, with smaller numbers native to Europe, North America, and northwestern Africa. Species, cultivars and hybrids are all widely grown for their beauty and often are fragrant. Roses have acquired cultural significance in many societies. Rose plants range in size from compact, miniature roses, to climbers that can reach seven meters in height. Different species hybridize easily, and this has been used in the development of the wide range of garden roses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Essential oil</span> Hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants

An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile chemical compounds from plants. Essential oils are also known as volatile oils, ethereal oils, aetheroleum, or simply as the oil of the plant from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove. An essential oil is essential in the sense that it contains the essence of the plant's fragrance—the characteristic fragrance of the plant from which it is derived. The term "essential" used here does not mean indispensable or usable by the human body, as with the terms essential amino acid or essential fatty acid, which are so called because they are nutritionally required by a living organism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lavender oil</span> Essential oil distilled from lavender flower spikes

Lavender oil is an essential oil obtained by distillation from the flower spikes of certain species of lavender. There are over 400 types of lavender worldwide with different scents and qualities. Two forms of lavender oil are distinguished, lavender flower oil, a colorless oil, insoluble in water, having a density of 0.885 g/mL; and lavender spike oil, a distillate from the herb Lavandula latifolia, having a density of 0.905 g/mL. Like all essential oils, it is not a pure compound; it is a complex mixture of phytochemicals, including linalool and linalyl acetate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basil</span> Important culinary herb

Basil (, ; Ocimum basilicum, also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae. It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also known as sweet basil or Genovese basil. Basil is native to tropical regions from Central Africa to Southeast Asia. In temperate climates basil is treated as an annual plant, however, basil can be grown as a short-lived perennial or biennial in warmer horticultural zones with tropical or Mediterranean climates.

<i>Helichrysum</i> Genus of flowering plants

The genus Helichrysum consists of an estimated 600 species of flowering plants in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). The type species is Helichrysum orientale. They often go by the names everlasting, immortelle, and strawflower. The name is derived from the Anicent Greek words ἥλιος and χρῡσός.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Absolute (perfumery)</span>

Used in perfumery and aromatherapy, absolutes are similar to essential oils. They are concentrated, highly aromatic, oily mixtures extracted from plants. Whereas essential oils are produced by distillation, boiling or pressing, absolutes are produced through solvent extraction, or more traditionally, through enfleurage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linalool</span> Chemical compound with a floral aroma

Linalool refers to two enantiomers of a naturally occurring terpene alcohol found in many flowers and spice plants. Linalool has multiple commercial applications, the majority of which are based on its pleasant scent. A colorless oil, linalool is classified as an acyclic monoterpenoid. In plants, it is a metabolite, a volatile oil component, an antimicrobial agent, and an aroma compound. Linalool has uses in manufacturing of soaps, fragrances, food additives as flavors, household products, and insecticides. Esters of linalool are referred to as linalyl, e.g. linalyl pyrophosphate, an isomer of geranyl pyrophosphate.

<i>Lavandula stoechas</i> Species of flowering plant

Lavandula stoechas, the Spanish lavender or topped lavender (U.S.) or French lavender (U.K.), is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, occurring natively in several Mediterranean countries, including France, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose oil</span> Essential oil

Rose oil is the essential oil extracted from the petals of various types of rose. Rose ottos are extracted through steam distillation, while rose absolutes are obtained through solvent extraction, the absolute being used more commonly in perfumery. The production technique originated in Greater Iran. Even with their high price and the advent of organic synthesis, rose oils are still perhaps the most widely used essential oil in perfumery.

<i>Helichrysum petiolare</i> Species of flowering plant

Helichrysum petiolare, the licorice-plant or liquorice plant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, native to South Africa — where it is known as imphepho — and naturalized in parts of Portugal and the United States. Growing to about 45 cm (18 in) high and 150 cm (59 in) broad, it is a trailing evergreen subshrub with furry grey-green leaves and small white flowers. Other common names include silver-bush everlastingflower, trailing dusty miller and kooigoed. The foliage has a faint licorice aroma, but Helichrysum petiolare is not closely related to the true liquorice plant, Glycyrrhiza glabra.

<i>Lavandula angustifolia</i> Species of plant

Lavandula angustifolia, formerly L. officinalis, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to the Mediterranean. Its common names include lavender, true lavender and English lavender ; also garden lavender, common lavender and narrow-leaved lavender.

<i>Helichrysum italicum</i> Species of flowering plant

Helichrysum italicum is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is sometimes called the curry plant because of the strong smell of its leaves. Other common names include Italian strawflower and immortelle. It grows on dry, rocky or sandy ground around the Mediterranean. The stems are woody at the base and can reach 60 centimetres (24 in) or more in height. The clusters of yellow flowers are produced in summer, they retain their colour after picking and are used in dried flower arrangements.

<i>Pelargonium graveolens</i> Species of plant

Pelargonium graveolens is a Pelargonium species native to the Cape Provinces and the Northern Provinces of South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

<i>Cladanthus mixtus</i> Species of flowering plant

Cladanthus mixtus, commonly known as the Moroccan chamomile, is a mostly Mediterranean species of flowering plant in the aster family, often considered a weed but is also distilled for essential oil, which changes in composition depending on where it grows.

<i>Hypericum aegypticum</i> Species of flowering plant in the St Johns wort family Hypericaceae

Hypericum aegypticum is a species of flowering plant of the St. John's wort family (Hypericaceae) which is native to the Eastern Mediterranean. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in the second volume of his Species Plantarum in 1753, who named it after Egypt despite it not being distributed there. The plant is commonly known as shrubby St. John's wort or Egyptian St. John's wort in English. Like other members of section Adenotrias, it is found among limestone rocks in coastal areas. While it has been evaluated as threatened on the island of Malta, the species has no legal protections.

<i>Lavandula viridis</i> Species of flowering plant

Lavandula viridis, commonly known as green lavender or white lavender, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, occurring naturally in southern Portugal and southwest Spain.

<i>Thymus zygis</i> Species of flowering plant

Thymus zygis is a type of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae native to the Iberian Peninsula and northern Morocco.

References

  1. "Helichrysum stoechas". pfaf.org. PFAF Plant Database.
  2. Bown, Deni (1995). Encyclopedia of herbs & their uses (1st American ed.). London: Dorling Kindersley. ISBN   0-7513-020-31.
  3. 1 2 Roussis, Vassilios; Tsoukatou, Maria; Chinou, Ioanna B.; Harvala, Catherine (1 November 2002). "Composition and Antibacterial Activity of the Essential Oils of Two Helichrysum stoechas Varieties Growing in the Island of Crete". Journal of Essential Oil Research. 14 (6): 459–461. doi:10.1080/10412905.2002.9699920. ISSN   1041-2905. S2CID   84722488.
  4. "The Good Scents Company - Aromatic/Hydrocarbon/Inorganic Ingredients Catalog information". www.thegoodscentscompany.com. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  5. Ascensão, Lia; Silva, Jaime A. T. Da; Barroso, José G.; Figueiredo, A. Cristina; Pedro, Luis G. (1 January 2001). "Glandular trichomes and essential oils of Helichrysum stoechas". Israel Journal of Plant Sciences. 49 (2): 115–122. doi:10.1560/f85y-yen4-9vtf-b1aj.