Aroma-Families.

Essential oils are grouped into “aroma-families” according to their smell type. The categories are: Spicy, Green, Citrus, Woody and Floral.

There is some dissention amongst aromatherapists over which groups certain oils belong to – Citronella, Lemongrass and Melissa spring immediately to mind. These three oils don’t obviously belong in the Citrus group, but as they do smell lemony ( and categorization depends upon their smell and NOT their therapeutic effects ), they are lumped in with Orange, Grapefruit, Lemon etc in the Citrus group. Another oil over which there is some confusion is Rosewood – I regard it as Woody. If anyone disagrees, feel free to e-mail me at: Aida@gamefreaks.freeuk.com. Whilst oils from the same families are usually harmonous, there are some intriguing exceptions !!

Thanks for the idea Lauren !!

SPICY:
Black Pepper. Fennel. Ginger. Coriander.

GREEN:
Tea Tree. Cajuput. Eucalyptus. Rosemary. Basil. Clary Sage. R.Chamomile.   G.Chamomile. Marjoram. Peppermint. Thyme. Niaouli.

CITRUS:
Bergamot. Neroli. Lemon. Citronella. Lemongrass. Melissa. Orange. Tangerine.        Mandarin. Petitgrain. Grapefruit.

WOODY:
Cypress. Pine. Sandalwood. Cedarwood. Rosewood. Ho Leaf. Ho Wood.Frankincense. Patchouli. Juniper. Vetiver. Valerian.

FLORAL:
Rose Otto. Geranium. Lavender. Ylang Ylang. Palmarosa. Jasmine. Helichrysum.