Pogostemon patchouly

Patchouli An East Indian shrubbery mint (Pogostemon patchouli) yielding a fragrant essential oil. 

Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin) extract Synonyms Extract of patchouli Pogostemon cablin Pogostemon patchouli extract... 

Synonyms Patchouli oil Patchouly oil Pogostemon cablin Pogostemon cablin oil Pogostemon patchouli oil... 

Patchoali oil, distilled from the leaves of Pogostemon patchouli, a herb grown in India and the Straits Settlements. Specific gravity at 15 C., 0 965-0 990 optical rotation, - 4.5" to63" refractive index at 20° C., 1 504-1 511 saponification number, up to 12 sometimes soluble in 0 5 to 1 volume of 90 per cent, alcohol, becoming turbid on further addition. The solubility of the oil in alcohol increases with age. The oil consists to the extent of 97 per cent, of patchouliol and cadinene, which have little influence on its odour, and the bodies responsible for its persistent and characteristic odour have not yet been isolated. 

Patchouli oil is distilled from the dried leaves of several types of the patchouli plant, of which the principal is Pogostemon patchouli. E. M. Holmes gives the following interesting information as to its botanical... 

The plant was supposed by Dr. Pelletier-Sautelet to be hitherto undescribed, in consequence of its not having previously been seen in flower, and he nam it Pogostemon patchouli. Its native country remained unknown until Mar, 1896, when Holmes was able to identify it as a wild plant of the Philippine Islands, which had been described by Blanco under the name of Mentha cablin in the Flore de Filipinos in 1837. This botanical source explains why the plant was known to the Chinese, and why the first importation into this country may have gone to New York from China. One of the uses of the plant appears to be to give its characteristic odour to Chinese and Indian ink. 

Gibbs, and the genuine patchouli, as its var. stw/ois, and it was not until 1896 that it was shown that the true patchouli (Pogostemon patchouli Pellet.) was a distinct species and a native of the Philippine Islands. The native Indian patchouli was then referred back again to Pogostemon Heyneanus Wall. 

G. Patchouliol F essence de patchouly P. is steam-distilled from the dried and fermented leaves of Pogostemon patchouli, also known as Po-gostemon cablin Benth., a small plant from the La-biatae family, originating from the Philippines and Indonesia. Nowadays, p. is produced also in China, Malaysia and Madagascar. 

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