The Encyclopedia of Essential Oils

To my mother, Kerttu

My own interest in essential oils and herbal remedies derives from the maternal side of my family who came from Finland, where home ‘simples’ retained popularity long after they had vanished from most parts of Britain. My Finnish grandmother knew a great deal about herbs and wild plants which she passed on to my mother, as she recalls:

Mama’s most important herb was parsley, which along with dill, marjoram, hops and others, were dried in bunches in the autumn, dangling at the ends of short lengths of cotton, all strung on a long length of thin rope stretching right across the kitchen stove. As scents are very evocative for remembering old things, I remember it so well – the strong and heady smell emanating from these herbs when they were hung up, and the stove was warm.

Later, as a biochemist, my mother became involved with the research of essential oils and plants, and helped inspire in me a fascination for herbs and the use of natural remedies. Without her early enthusiasm and guidance, I’m sure this book would never have been written.

In 1992 the first edition of this book was published in the UK. Since then it has been translated into many languages as well being released in several different formats, including an illustrated edition. With this new edition, I am very glad to have the opportunity to update my original work and add a few words to this preface.

In the twenty-year period since the original publication of
The Encyclopedia of Essential Oils
, the use of essential oils, together with the practice of aromatherapy in the West has undergone a radical transformation. At the beginning of the 1990s, aromatherapy was still considered a fringe practice and the use of essential oils in the home was by no means widespread. However, as scientific trials and clinical research have continued to confirm the potentiality of essential oils, they have become increasingly respected within the medical arena. This has been accompanied by a steady increase of public interest in holistic therapies and a sociological trend towards embracing all things ‘natural’ over the past two decades in Europe and the United States.