Geranium Essential Oil has a great many benefits but is used generally for its calming, nurturing aroma.  Thought to be a great aid for PMT, menopause and women’s problems the overall effect of Geranium Essential Oil is said to be ‘balancing’. Indigo Herbs has a great pure Geranium Essential Oil that comes from the best examples of Pelargonium graveolens. Let this lovely scent pervade your home to bring an overall feeling of harmony.

The history of Geranium stems from South Africa where the plant originates. The Sotho people used the non-hybridised wild Geranium to help heal wounds, abscesses and stop the flow of blood by applying a paste made from the leaves. Other traditional African uses include making a decoction from the leaf that would be applied to the skin of people who were suffering from heavy fever. The belief was that the person suffering from fever was possessed by an evil spirit and the geranium ointment had the powder to push the spirit out. In 1737 a man called Carolus Linnaeus catalogued all the new hybrid species of Geraniaceae together and included the genus Pelagonium. It is in fact this latter genus that is utilised to make ‘Geranium’ essential oil even though today’s Geranium Essential Oil has little to do with Geranium. This is because of Linnaeus and his 18th century work. The name has now stuck and nearly all Pelargonium essential oil is named Geranium Essential Oil, even though they are different plants. In the 1940’s the plant was introduced to Yunnan province in China which is now the biggest producer of Geranium Essential Oil.

Pelargonium graveolens is thought to be a hybrid and is one of only a few out of 250 Pelargonium plants that actually smell pleasant. Also called Lady Plymouth geranium this shrub can grow to about 1 meter in height and 1 meter across. The stems become woody with age with young shoots being covered in glandular hairs. The leaves are crinkled, velvety and rose scented with many glandular pockets of oil. The flowers are usually white to pink and reach peek bloom in the spring.