Rabbit Brush Essential Oil
July 12, 2011 | Posted in: Herbs & Essential Oils
Source: Utah wilderness, USA
Distillation: Steam distilled wild aerial parts; this artisan distills in co-creation with the plant spirits
Botanical name: Chrysothamnus nauseosus
Rabbitbrush is a tall, golden flowered plant indigenous to the high southwestern pinyon / juniper ecosystem. Friend to the Navajo and Hopi peoples, it has long been a provider of food, medicine, dyes, chewing gum, and ceremonial smudge.
Medicinally, it has been used to relieve coughing, headaches, and chest pains. It has also been used as a treatment for colds, smallpox, and tuberculosis; diarrhea and stomach cramps; and externally as a wash for sores, skin eruptions, and injuries. One of its healing properties is the ability to lower blood pressure, and it should be made into a semi-homeopathic remedy for that purpose.
Its latex is very similar to rubber tree latex, and it should be avoided by those who have a latex allergy. The enticing aroma is reminiscent of a desert rainstorm, as rabbit brush is one of the plants that releases essential oils into the air when it rains. It lives in close community with the Blue Sage, and like the sage, it is a sacred plant to many indigenous desert peoples.
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