Cedar Virginian Essential Oil Profile

As the botanical name of this particular ‘cedarwood’ implies, Juniperus virginiana is not really a true cedar but rather it belongs to the genus Juniper, of the Cupressaceae family. There are several cedarwood essential oils extracted from trees of the Cupressaceae family, but very few are used in aromatherapy.

Also known as the Virginia cedar, Eastern red cedar and Pencil cedar, Juniperus virginiana is native to the eastern United States and adjacent Canada. So far as essential oil production is concerned, United States is the sole producer.

Physical description

It is a slow growing evergreen tree that can reach a height anywhere between 10 to 18 metres (33-60 ft) and displays a narrow conical habit. The fibrous shredding bark is reddish-brown or grey in colour with branches that are mostly horizontal, with a thin and scaling bark.

The needle-like green or blue-green leaves grow in pairs, and berries appear in spring that change colour as they mature, turning from a greenish-white to a dark blue-purple colour with a fine bloom in autumn.

The common name for this tree is derived from the beautiful fragrant heartwood, which is a reddish colour and highly valuable to the furniture manufacturing industry because of its special virtues.

Traditional uses & folklore

Virginian cedarwood has long been known to possess natural moth repelling properties which have been employed in cedar chests, wardrobes and closets, and its poles are highly resistant to decay when used for fence posts because of their durability and longevity in damp, wet soil.

Native American tribes revered this tree along with other so-called ‘red cedars’ such as the southern (J. virginiana var. silicicola) and western red cedar (Thuja plicata). Tribes including Cheyenne, Blackfoot, Flathead, Crows, Nez Perce, Kutenai, and Sioux all employed parts of the tree for medicinal purposes.

Leaves, twigs, berries and bark of J. virginiana were used in decoctions taken internally to treat respiratory and urinary tract infections, asthma, colds, fevers, tonsillitis, pneumonia and to encourage menstruation.

Poultices of leaves and sprigs warmed on hot stones were also applied to treat rheumatic aches and pains, arthritis, backache and skin conditions. In later years these remedies were also used by the white settlers too, and later J. virginiana was included in the U. S. Pharmacopoeia.

The Tree of Life

Symbolising the tree of life and known as the ‘medicine tree’, the wood was believed by some tribes to have been blood-stained by a powerful magician and it became sacred to them. It was burned in rituals, purification ceremonies and sweat lodges to drive away negative spirits and bring prophetic visions.

On a more practical every-day level, cedarwood strips were used to weave storage bags and finely twined mats or partitions, and sachets were used to protect ceremonial head-dresses from insects. The Cheyenne made flutes from the wood, but it appears it was the Western red cedar Thuja plicata that was most commonly used to make totem poles.

Extraction

The prime source of wood today is the waste from cedar furniture manufacturing factories; stumps, chipped logs, shavings and sawdust are subjected to steam distillation and yield a slightly viscous, yellow-amber coloured essential oil. It has a fresh and slightly sweet woody aroma with a balsamic dry-out note that makes an excellent low cost fixative in perfumery.

At cool temperatures, crystals of cedrol often form in the essential oil, but this is quite natural and they will usually dissolve when the temperature returns to around 20 degrees centigrade.

Uses in aromatherapy

Virginian cedarwood essential oil is used to treat muscular aches and pains, painful joints, rheumatism and arthritis. It is particularly beneficial when blended with Roman or German chamomile essential oils when used in massage.

Although milder in action than juniper berry, it still has an influence on the kidneys and bladder, and creates an effective synergy when they are all blended together for use in the bath or for massage. Its astringent and antiseptic properties are ideal for treating acne and oily skin conditions as well as coughs and colds.

Cedar Virginian essential oil is a base note, and blends well with bergamot, chamomile roman, clary sage, cypress, frankincense, jasmine, juniper berry, neroli, patchouli, petitgrain, rose, rosemary, sandalwood, vetiver, ylang yang. It works particularly well for blends where rose or jasmine predominates.

Many aromatherapy books state that J. virginiana oil is an abortifacient without providing any evidence in support of this claim. As in many other cases, this information originated in older herbal references where it was confused with the related species J. sabina, which is a known abortifacient if taken internally.

It is not common knowledge that essential oil of J. virginiana is an approved flavouring ingredient, and this would not be possible if it was considered unsafe. See Quinessence Cedar Virginian Essential Oil.

Copyright © Quinessence Aromatherapy Ltd 2010. Written by Geoff Lyth