Essential Oil Of Linden Blossom

By Olena Gill.

Well, you will indeed call it "mellow yellow" when you take a whiff of this heady essential oil. The Linden Blossom is simply that, a flower with clusters of creamy-white-yellow blossoms which carry a powerful scent. Such is the power of this plant that bees go into drunken flight after visiting it! My kind of scent, you say? Indeed.

The linden blossom (tilia vulgaris or tilia europeacea) plant is from a lime tree, but not the kind of citrus limes that we normally think of. These tall, graceful trees can grow up to 30 metres high with beautiful green, heart-shaped leaves. The majority of the essential oil comes from France and England, although it is also native to Europe in general. For example, "unter den Linden" (Under the Linden Trees) is one of the main thoroughfares in downtown Berlin. Definitely highly regarded. But why is this oil so mellow? Well, on the European continent it is very common to drink linden in the form of a tea (known as "tilleul") made from the dried leaves.

Linden Blossom is highly regarded as a general relaxant and the honey from the flowers is a common additive inmedicines and surprisingly enough, liquers. I had the pleasure of visiting Europe last year and returned home with quite a nice supply of dried linden leaves. I can honestly attest that drinking the tea helped me sleep much more comfortably and assisted in reducing the tension from my head and neck muscles. This attritube should give you an insight into its wonderful properties as a therapeutic oil. Linden Blossom oil is a powerful tonic, beneficial towards stress and related nervous conditions. Add to this list the reports that linden oil use has produced positive results with tension headaches, migrains, insomnia, heart palpitations and high blood pressure.

Linden blossom oil can be used for other major disorders as well. For cleansing and detoxifying the liver and kidneys, this oil is quite powerful and has been known to be of great assistance in cases of hepatitis. As a tonic, linden blossom is useful for chronic catarrhal conditions such as flu, colds with fevers, bronchitis and pleurisy. The effect of the oil is to help clear up air passages, facilitate breathing and calm coughs and fevers.

This essential oil is one of my favorites in custom blends - it smells sweet, but it is not an overpowering "flowery" smell. It even has been a hit with some of my male clientele, who have reported feelingmuch more relaxed than ever before. And it certainly is a favorite among the ladies with skin that is too dry or prone to breaking out - they have had good results from topical application of this oil.

Because this plant is commonly used in high class perfumery, harvesting of linden blossom is an important industry in Europe,and the cost of this oil can drastically vary from year to year. Nevertheless, the mellow effect of this sweet oil is definitely worth the price. Luckily, this oil is a concentrated relaxant so very little of the oil is needed in blends or other concoctions to have a powerful effect. One to two drops in a warm bath will indeed lull you into dreamland! As always with essential oils, if you choose to experiment, remember to dilute your oils in a cream or oil base for topical applications, and never inhale directly fromthe bottle that the concentrated oils are in. Until next time, enjoy the sweet scentsof summer and the flowers around you.

Olena Gill is an aromatherapist at The Mind-Body Connection Centre. Any questions? Call her at (250)716-0677.