Original information from Kobashi Official Website:
LATIN NAME: Anthemis nobilis syn: Chamaemelum nobile (L.)
SOURCE: Steamed distilled from the flowers.
COLOUR: clear light blue - sometimes light green.
ORIGIN: England
AROMA: Strong floral, sweet fruity aroma, known as 'Earth Apple'
QUALITIES: The Oil is widely used in Aromatherapy for its soothing properties and its ability to blend happily with other oils, and more generally in cosmetic and skin care preparations. Excellent for skin care, especially sensitive and problem skin. Soothing and relaxing, encourages sleep. Ideal for stiff joints and muscles. During the distillation process, the 'water' fraction of the distillate, containing many of the water soluble fractions of the essential oil Known as the Hydrolat or Floral Water, is collected. This Hydrolat has many of the 'virtues' of the herb and essential oil in a water soluble form, and finds many uses in water-based cosmetic products from skin toners and conditioners to soaps and shampoos. On its own, as a pure hydrolat it has a surprising warm honey-like aroma and can be used as a skin cleanser and toner in its own right
The herb itself has a history of use stretching back to the Ancient Egyptian and Moorish Civilizations and it has certainly been grown in England for over a thousand years, being one of the Saxons' nine sacred herbs - known as Maythen. It is not surprising, therefore, that it should be known as "English Chamomile" being ideally suited to our climate and soils. The flower heads are harvested when they are in full bloom in July and August . The Oil is a sky blue colour when first distilled with a clean, almost medicinal but floral aroma. The sky blue is caused by the presence of traces of chamazulene, a powerful anti-inflammatory agent
A member of the Compositae family, a perennial of creeping habit - the herb growing to a height of 30 cm with flower spikes during the flowering season which is in July and August, to 45 cm. Both the flower and upper parts of the green herb contain an essential oil which gives the plant its characteristic aroma. The foliage is of a dark green sometimes grayish colour with a much branched 'feathery' appearance. The flowers are characterized by their flattened corolla which is easily distinguished from the dome shaped corolla of Matricaria.
