Lemon Myrtle gets its fantastic lemon flavour and aroma from the citral component that exists in the plant, and therefore in the oil. Of all the ‘lemony’ oils out there (lemon, lemongrass, lemon verbena, and lemon-scented tea tree) lemon myrtle has the highest concentration of this constituent.
Our Lemon Myrtle trees thrive here on the Sunshine Coast as it’s their native environment – you can find lemon myrtle trees in natural bushland all over the Sunshine Coast.
If you’d like to use Lemon Myrtle Essential Oil on your skin, use at no stronger than 0.7% of the formula and give this solution a quick test on a patch of skin to be sure there's no reaction.
Around the house it's great as a mould remover, cleaner and laundry refresher. Put a few drops in your mop bucket for a freshly scented home.
Another popular use for Lemon Myrtle Essential Oil is as a food or drink flavouring. Always be sure to mix it with ingredients that it will blend with – for example, oil-based or fat-based ingredients or alcohol. As with any oil it will not mix with water (or water-based food/drink) on its own so putting a couple of drops into your drinking water is not recommended.
Try 2 – 4 drops of Lemon Myrtle Essential Oil in 1kg of your favourite plain yoghurt, or create a salad dressing or flavoured cooking oil by adding 2-6 drops into your preferred cooking oil like olive oil or sunflower.
Botanical Name: backhousia citriodora
Common Names: lemon myrtle, lemon ironwood, lemon scented myrtle
Country of Origin: Australia
Method of Production: steam distillation
Part of Plant: leaves
Often Used For: colds, flus, chest congestions, as a room deodoriser and fragrance, to uplift the mood, improve concentration, help with relaxation, insect repellent.
Aroma Note & Strength: top note, strong scent
Blends Well With: tea tree, blue cypress, niaouli, sandalwood, rosalina and many eucalyptus varieties.
Colour & Consistency: clear to yellow colour, thin consistency
Lemon Myrtle Safety Notes: do not apply to skin at concentrations greater than 0.7%.
do not ingest more than 46 mg per day if pregnant
oral cautions: avoid if pregnant or on medication for diabetes
skin cautions: avoid use on hypersensitive, diseased or damaged skin
do not use on children younger than 2 years of age
[Robert Tisserand and Rodney Young, "Essential Oil Safety" (Second Edition. United Kingdom: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, 2014), 360-361.]
General Safety Notes: do not apply essential oils to the skin undiluted - always dilute with a suitable carrier oil or cream (never water because oil and water do not mix). It is recommended to perform a patch test before your first application.
Always avoid getting essential oils in your eyes or on your mucous membranes.
Keep out of reach of children.