Picea mariana steam distilled from the needles and twigs in Canada.

Aroma: Black spruce essential oil has a clean, fresh and pleasant fragrance that is sweeter, and softer than most evergreen oils with balsamic, resinous and green woody notes. It has a hint of a fruity note.

History: Black spruce needles and boughs have a long history of use in saunas, steam baths, and the essential oil as an additive to baths and massage products in spas. This essential oil is valued for its ability to target sore muscles and re energize body, mind and spirit.

Description: Black spruce is a tree that grows naturally in Canada and is typically found in wet, swampy areas. Wild growing spruce trees can grow up to 15 meters in height.

Common Uses: Coughing, depression. [Julia Lawless, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils (Rockport, MA: Element Books, 1995), 62-66.]

Black spruce has a very pleasant scent, and can be used by aromatherapists in baths to revive tired muscles. Black spruce oil is frequently used in room sprays, detergents, and in cough and cold preparations.

Colour: Colourless to pale yellow liquid.

Consistency: Thin

Note: Top

Strength of Aroma: Medium

Main Constituents:
α-pinene: 20.1, Bornyl Acetate : 19.7%, camphene 13-20%, α-limonene 3-5%, myrcene 3-5%

Also: B-Pinene, Camphor
See Essential Oil Safety for more complete list of constituents. [Private Communication: Rondeau, 1999. Source cited in Robert Tisserand and Rodney Young, Essential Oil Safety (Second Edition. United Kingdom: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, 2014), 429.]

Blends well with: Pine, Cedarwood, Galbanum, Benzoin, Lavender and Rosemary.

Cautions: Spruce Black Essential Oil should be applied to the skin only in dilution as it has the potential to be a possible skin irritant. Avoid use during pregnancy.

Safety Information: Tisserand and Young warn that old and oxidized oils should not be used. Reading Tisserand and Young's full profile is recommended. [Robert Tisserand and Rodney Young, Essential Oil Safety (Second Edition. United Kingdom: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, 2014), 429.]

Photo thanks to clarity on Flickr (Flickr) [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons