Homalomena Rubescens Oil

#### Homalomena Rubescens. An oil which has hardly yet reached the shelves in European and American perfume laboratories, has been known and used for quite some time in the Far East: the essential oil of **Homalomena**** ****Rubescens**** **which is steam distilled from the comminuted roots of this plant. The plant is related to calamus. It grows wild and commonly in India, Indonesia, the Malaccan peninsula and Borneo. It is experimentally cultivated in India for the production of larger quantities of essential oil. Oil of **Homalomena Rubescens **is a pale yellow or amber-colored liquid of a sweet-woody, somewhat floral, but also harsh-pinelike odor. The odor is reminiscent of that of low grade **Ho**** ****Wood Oils **or of certain fractions of bois de rose oil. It serves in its homeland as a soap perfume ingredient, as a source of **Linalool **(the main constituent of the oil), and for the production of linalyl esters. The rhizome of the plant is used locally for the flavoring of tobacco. To the author's knowledge, the rhizomes have not yet been exported or distilled outside their country of origin beyond the experimental scale. The oil does not offer any sensational or new notes in perfumery when **Ho Oils, Bois de Rose Oil, Lavandin Oil**, etc. are freely available. The annual production of **Homalomena**** ****Rubescens**** ****Oil**** **is still in the order of magnitude of a few metric tons. The entire production is consumed locally.