| Latin Name : | Cananga odorata |
| English Name : | Ylang-ylang |
| French Name : | Ylang-ylang |
| Family : | Annonaceae |
| Origin : | Madagascar |
History and Origin
This essential oil is extracted from a small tree that comes from Indo-Malaysian tropical areas. Subsequently, the tree was naturalized by the European explorers in most of the tropical islands of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Ocean. The Latin name of ylang-ylang « Cananga » is simply derived from the original name of the plant in Malay (Kananga ou Kénanga).
The distillation of ylang is special. The first tests were recorded in 1860 by a sailor named Albert Schwenger. The delicate fragrance began to be used in the perfumery field and a unique extraction method was developed. The essential oil is collected in several steps during the distillation process, that is why we can find the names totum, complete (12 to 24 hours of distillation continuously), extra (first hour of distillation), no 2 and no 3.