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plant profile

Aromatic History & Lore
Bio-Regional Aromatic Medicine
Plant Profiles
January 25, 202134Comments

The Medicine & Magic of Pine

Article written by Evan SylliaasenFor ages, humans across the Earth have maintained a special and magical relationship with evergreen trees of all kinds. The multifaceted wisdom in their growth patterns,
by NW School of Aromatic Medicine
Aromatic History & Lore
Plant Profiles
August 26, 201912Comments

Myrrh Plant Profile – The Sacred Bitter Medicine of Antiquity

Have you ever noticed how Frankincense and Myrrh are commonly mentioned together by herbalists and incense connoisseurs, yet Frankincense somehow receives all the attention in the media and medical journals these days? Why
by NW School of Aromatic Medicine

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At some point, “Frankincense” stops being a suffic At some point, “Frankincense” stops being a sufficient answer. You want to know which Frankincense species. From where? Harvested by whom? Why does one smell bright, sparkling, and citrus-like, while another is dark, earthy, and balsamic? Why is one Sandalwood rich and creamy while another bearing the same botanical name smells completely different? And wait... There are HOW many varieties of Sandalwood?! 😆 This is what happens when you fall far enough down the aromatic rabbit hole. The simple answers stop being satisfying. You start reading Latin names. You want to know where things grew and who harvested them. You compare three specimens when one used to be enough. You notice subtleties you never smelled before. You wonder why one costs $12 and another $80, and whether the expensive one is actually better. And eventually, you start wondering what our growing demand means for the plants themselves. This is where simply using and collecting aromatics starts becoming connoisseurship. And that's the world I created The Aromatic Connoisseur Series to open up for you. Across three classes, we'll explore how to: 🌿 Find extraordinary aromatics in places most people don't know to look. 🌿 Get closer to the people growing, harvesting, distilling, and producing them. 🌿 Understand what makes one specimen different from another and develop your own nose for quality. 🌿 Look beyond the material to the plants, ecosystems, and people behind it. It's for the herbalists, aromatherapists, incense lovers, natural perfumers, and plant people with mysterious little bags of resins, woods, roots, and fragrant things tucked into every drawer. You know who you are. And if this sounds like your kind of rabbit hole, today is the day to join us. Enrollment closes tonight. 🌿 Individual classes — $45 🌿 Complete series — $117 When the series returns, introductory pricing will be gone—$65 per class / $165 complete. Come fall a little further down the aromatic rabbit hole with me. 🌿 Click the link in our bio to join before enrollment closes tonight. --- #EthicalSourcing #AromaticPlants #NaturalAromatics #NaturalPerfumery #Aromatherapy #Incense
There’s a difference between owning a lot of aroma There’s a difference between owning a lot of aromatics... and truly knowing aromatics. I think most of us begin the same way. We collect. Another essential oil. Another resin. A beautiful piece of aromatic wood. An unusual extract we've never smelled before. I started collecting incense when I was 16, not knowing much about it, the traditions, or the plans behind it at all. And there's nothing wrong with that—I still get ridiculously excited when a package of new aromatics shows up at my door. 😆 But eventually, something changes. You don't just want more. You want to understand what you already have. You want to know things like why one Frankincense smells completely different from another. Why that Sandalwood was so expensive compared to another. Where your Agarwood actually came from. Whether wildcrafted really means better. How to recognize exceptional quality with your own nose. Who grew, harvested, distilled, or traded the materials you're working with. And whether the plants you love are actually being cared for in a way that allows them to continue thriving. That's when collecting aromatics starts becoming connoisseurship. And that's really why I created The Aromatic Connoisseur Series. To help you become more knowledgeable, discerning, and intentional with the aromatics you already love. To know how to find them, how to understand them, and how to protect them. 🌿 The Aromatic Connoisseur Series Three special classes & one deeper journey into the aromatic world. Enrollment is only open until tomorrow night, so if this deeper journey into the aromatic world is calling to you, come take a look. Explore the complete series + join us in our bio --- #Aromatherapy #NaturalAromatics #AromaticPlants #EthicalSourcing #NaturalPerfumery #Herbalism
That little bottle of essential oil on your shelf That little bottle of essential oil on your shelf was once a field of living plants. That piece of Sandalwood was once inside a tree. Your Frankincense resin once flowed from the bark of a living Boswellia. Vetiver oil began underground, in the roots of a grass. And that precious piece of Agarwood may represent years—or even decades—of growth before it ever found its way into your hands. It's surprisingly easy to forget this. We buy aromatics in bottles, bags, jars, and boxes. We learn their properties. We formulate with them, burn them, diffuse them, make medicine and perfume with them... And somewhere along the way, the plant can disappear behind the product. I've been thinking about this a lot. Because becoming more knowledgeable about aromatics shouldn't only mean learning how to find the rarest materials or developing a more sophisticated nose. It should also deepen our understanding of what it took for those materials to exist in the first place. Some aromatic plants regenerate readily after harvest. Others are uprooted entirely. Some aromatic woods require trees that have grown for decades. Some plants are thriving. Others are facing enormous pressure from habitat loss, overharvesting, increasing global demand, and unsustainable trade. And behind these materials are also growers, harvesters, distillers, families, and communities whose livelihoods can be intertwined with the plants we treasure. This is why the third class in The Aromatic Connoisseur Series is called: 🌿 Guardians of the Aromatic Plants Because I believe true connoisseurship comes with responsibility. The more we appreciate these plants, the more we should want to understand where they came from—and help ensure they're still here for the generations that come after us. From commodities... back to plants. Click the link in our bio to explore The Aromatic Connoisseur Series. --- #AromaticPlants #Herbalism #Aromatherapy #EthicalSourcing #NaturalAromatics #NaturalPerfumery #Incense #AromaticMedicine
“Wildcrafted” does NOT automatically mean sustaina “Wildcrafted” does NOT automatically mean sustainable. 🌿 Neither does organic. And words like ethical or sustainably harvested don't always tell us as much as we might think. Harvesting Lavender flowers is very different from digging up a root system. Gathering leaves is different from removing bark. And harvesting fragrant heartwood that may have taken decades to develop asks something entirely different of the plant. Then there's something else we often forget: Plants don't grow at the speed of markets. An obscure aromatic plant can suddenly explode in popularity after a health influencer with millions of followers shines a spotlight on it. But a tree that takes 30 years to mature still takes 30 years to mature. So what does “sustainably sourced” actually mean—and how can those of us who genuinely love aromatic plants learn to look beyond the words on the label? That's what I explore in my newest article: 🌿 What Does “Sustainably Sourced” Actually Mean for Aromatic Plants? → Read the new article at the link in our bio --- #AromaticPlants #Herbalism #Aromatherapy #EthicalSourcing #NaturalAromatics #NaturalPerfumery #Incense #AromaticMedicine
Some of the best aromatic materials I've ever foun Some of the best aromatic materials I've ever found were NOT sitting on the websites everyone in the aromatic world already knows about. I've found them by digging. Following obscure leads. Searching botanical names and countries of origin. Talking with importers, distillers, growers, harvesters, wholesalers, and people much closer to the source. Sometimes a search leads nowhere. Other times, you find a little-known source halfway around the world carrying a material so extraordinary that you immediately think... Where has THIS been hiding?! Over the past 15+ years, I've spent countless hours going down these aromatic rabbit holes—sourcing materials for medicine making, incense, perfumery, teaching, my own collection, and Higher Mind Incense. And today, I'm opening up that world to you. 🌿 CLASS ONE: Sourcing the World's Aromatic Treasures airs today! We're going behind the scenes of how I actually search for exceptional aromatics—including how to look beyond the usual retailers, follow a material closer to its source, evaluate potential suppliers, compare samples, recognize red flags, and ask the questions that reveal what you're actually buying. I'll also share some of my own sourcing stories, mistakes, successes, and lessons learned along the way. Because once you learn how to look, the aromatic marketplace becomes a much bigger world. And you might be surprised by what you find. 🌿 Sourcing the World's Aromatic Treasures The first class in The Aromatic Connoisseur Series airs today. → Join us at the link in our bio --- #Aromatherapy #NaturalPerfumery #EssentialOils #PlantWisdom #Botanicals #PlantMedicine #aromaconnoisseur
Most of us were never actually taught how to smell Most of us were never actually taught how to smell. We were taught what Lavender is for. We learned the properties of Frankincense. We memorized the constituents of essential oils, the uses of herbs, and the fragrance notes of perfumes. But how much time have you spent actually training your nose to notice what's there? The difference between sweet and balsamic, deep and resinous. An aroma that reveals itself immediately... and one that continues unfolding the longer you sit with it. I've found that the more you intentionally work with your sense of smell, the more the aromatic world starts opening up. You begin noticing differences you simply couldn't perceive before. And that's one of the things I'm most excited about with my new Aromatic Connoisseur Series. Learning more information about aromatic plants is always good, but this is more about becoming better at actually experiencing them. We'll be smelling, comparing, paying attention, and developing the sensory discernment that comes from spending real time with beautiful aromatic materials. Because your nose can be trained. And when it is, an entirely new layer of the aromatic world starts revealing itself. 🌿 The Aromatic Connoisseur Series is now open for enrollment. Our first class airs this Friday. → Learn more + join us at the link in our bio --- #Aromatherapy #EssentialOils #Perfumery #Botanicals #PlantMedicine #AromaticPlants #NaturalPerfumery #OlfactoryTraining #PlantWisdom
What does it mean to become an Aromatic Connoisseu What does it mean to become an Aromatic Connoisseur? 🌿 It means you don't simply want to USE beautiful aromatics. You want to understand them. You want to know where they come from, how to find extraordinary materials, and how to recognize a trustworthy source. You want a nose that's been trained through experience—not one that needs a label or price tag to tell it what's exceptional. You notice subtleties you once missed. You become curious about species, origin, terroir, harvest, processing, age, and all the little details that give a natural aromatic its character. You seek out the unusual. The remarkable. The beautifully made. But you also remember that every aromatic treasure begins with a living plant. So you care about the people who grow and harvest them. You ask harder questions about sustainability. And you make choices that help ensure these plants are still here for generations to come. An Aromatic Connoisseur isn't someone who knows everything. It's someone who has learned how to look closer. How to smell deeper. How to ask better questions. Someone whose curiosity keeps growing alongside their knowledge. Source with curiosity. Know with discernment. Protect with reverence. 🌿 That's the journey of The Aromatic Connoisseur Series. Click our bio link to learn more. #AromaticPlants #Aromatherapy #NaturalAromatics #Herbalism #NaturalPerfumery #Incense #BotanicalPerfumery #AromaticMedicine
SOURCE IT. → KNOW IT. → PROTECT IT. 🌿 If you real SOURCE IT. → KNOW IT. → PROTECT IT. 🌿 If you really want to understand the aromatic plants and materials you work with, I believe you need all three. And that's the journey we're taking in the Aromatic Connoisseur Series. 🌎 CLASS 1 — SOURCE IT Sourcing the World's Aromatic Treasures Where does that incredible Sandalwood actually come from? Who harvested that Frankincense? How do you find the small growers, distillers, harvesters, and suppliers carrying extraordinary materials you'll never find through the obvious sources? We're going behind the label to learn how to find exceptional aromatics, understand their origins, ask better questions, spot red flags, and find sources you can trust. 👃 CLASS 2 — KNOW IT Understanding Fine Aromatics Finding it is one thing. Knowing what you're smelling is another. Why can two specimens of the same plant smell worlds apart? How do terroir, age, processing, and storage affect aroma? What makes an aromatic complex and alive? This class is about developing discernment—smelling, comparing, evaluating, and learning to recognize exceptional natural aromatics for yourself. 🌱 CLASS 3 — PROTECT IT Guardians of the Aromatic Plants Some of the plants we treasure most are also under tremendous pressure: Sandalwood, Agarwood, Frankincense, Rosewood, Spikenard, and others. Every aromatic begins with a living plant, an ecosystem, and often a person or community whose hands helped bring it to us. We'll explore sustainability, regeneration, wild vs. cultivated materials, harvesting impacts, threatened plants, fair compensation, greenwashing, and the choices we can make to help protect these plants for generations to come. Source it. Know it. Protect it. That's what it means to me to become an Aromatic Connoisseur. Not simply someone who owns beautiful aromatics... But someone who understands them. 🌿 The 3-part Aromatic Connoisseur Series is now open for enrollment. Take each class individually or join me for the complete journey. → Explore all 3 classes + join us at the link in our bio. --- #aromatics #aromaconnoisseur #naturalperfumery #essentialoils #medicinemaking #aromaticherbs
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