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Can You Smell these Pictures?
Aromatherapy is booming. And why not? The scents of garden roses or cedar trees or vanilla pods are definitely health-giving and uplifting. It may come as a surprise to many to discover that Australia is also host to a diversity of aromatic plants. Some are obviously well known, like the oil from eucalypt leaves which has been bottled and shipped around the world. But many Australian plants have aromas whose properties are still to be analyzed and utilized. The scents cover the whole range from delicately sweet perfumes to cleansing antiseptics to pungent insecticides.
The flowers of melaleucas (tea trees) generally have a honey scent but their timbers burn with the heavenly odour of a thousand Arabian nights. Acacias, or wattles, have scents ranging from exotic French perfumes to foul, keep-away odours. Leatherwood blossoms from Tasmania get bottled as honey. The gums and leaves of cypress pine freshen the air with a light incense when burned, as does the bark of sandalwood. Boronias can be sweet-scented flowers but some have herb-like leaves which can be used in cooking. Mint bushes and emu bushes have strong-scented leaves which can be used for insect-proofing cupboards and closets. Heaths, rock orchids, waxflowers, caustic vine and even the strange Albany pitcher plant all have wonderful scents with which you can enhance your garden, your house or your health.
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