MUHUHU (SILVER OAK) ESSENTIAL OIL (BRACHYLAENA HUILLENSIS) - ESSENTIAL OILS

Botanical Name: Brachylaena huillensis

Common Method of Extraction: Steam distilled

Part Typically Used: Heartwood

Color: Amber - colored 

Consistency: Thick

Perfumery Note: Base

Strength of Initial Aroma: Balsamic, cool, earthy, rich, sensual, slightly musky, soft, woody.

Brachylaena Huillensis occurs from Kenya and Uganda, south to north-eastern South Africa, Madagascar and also in Angola. The wood, commonly traded as "Muhuhu" is mainly used for construction, first-grade flooring, joinery, interior trim, furniture, fence posts, toys, novelties, boxes, crates, tool handles, carving and turnery. Brachylaena Huillensis wood has been exported as short logs from Kenya to India for use as a substitute of Sandalwood (Santalum Album).

Brachylaena Huillensis is a shrub or small to medium-sized tree up to 20 (30) m tall with bole up to 45 (90) cm in diameter found in evergreen forest, deciduous bushland, secondary vegetation and dune forest in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa and Swaziland, up to 1800 m altitud.

The aromatic oil extracted from the wood is used for perfumery. In Kenya Brachylaena Huillensis is planted as ornamental and boundary tree around dwellings. Male flowering trees are a source of pollen for honey bees.