Cangerana Oil

#### Cangerana. The essential oil of **Cabralea**** ****Cangerana**, often called **Cangerana**, is steam distilled from the bark of the root of a Brazilian tree of the above name. The tree belongs to the genus of Meliaceae among which we also find **Cedrela**** ****Odorata**** **(see that monograph) and **Swietenia**** ****Mahagony**, the "true" mahogany tree. The name **Cabralea **is derived from the famous portuguese navigator and explorer Pedro Alvarez Cabral, who found Brazil in A.D. 1500. To be more correct: he found the east coast of South America and when he saw the wealth of trees in the new land, he particularly admired those with a beautiful, red-colored wood. Accordingly, he named the land: Brazil (= the red woods). The peel or bark of Cabralea Cangerana root is used in local medicine. The essential oil finds its way as a perfume for soaps, floorwaxes and other perfumed household articles in the local market. The annual production of this oil is hardly more than a few metric tons. **Cangerana Oil **is a viscous liquid of pale olive- green to pale turquoise color. Its odor is distinctly woody, very dry and earthy, spicy-peppery, reminiscent of cubeb oil, cyperus oils, carrot seed oil, clove leaf sesquiterpenes, etc. It blends well with clove oils, lavandin, oakmoss, olibanum, petitgrain, pine needle oils, vetiver, etc., and with borneol, cedarwood derivatives, coumarin, isobornylacetate, methyl anthranilate, nitromusks, etc. The oil could no doubt find use outside of its country of origin for the creation of pine needle fragrances, fougères, Oriental perfume bases, violet bases, "men's fragrances", spice blends, etc. and it is particularly interesting for use in the construction of artificial essential oils. The oil is also known locally as **Oleo**** ****de**** ****Madeira**, which is a mutual name for a number of essential oils from trees along the Brazilian Madeira River.