The central column is short, while the seeds have between one and three prominent wings. It is propagated from seed. (Reference: Elliott & Jones; Encyclopaedia of Australian Plants, Vol 2, page 431.)

Taking 20 years to mature and living as long as 300 years, the trees are grown on large plantations owned by the Tiwi peoples. Trees grown in the wild are never used for processing by Australian Cypress Oil Pty Ltd. Unlike the Myrtaceae (the native Australian tea tree), eucalypts, and so on, once a Callitris intratropica has been harvested, it does not re-grow. Australian Cypress Oil is establishing new plantations to increase and enhance this valuable natural resource.

Harvest, extraction of essential oil, and production
At early maturity, the tree can be harvested for non-volatile extractives. Under particular conditions, small amounts of two varieties of the same rare oil are produced from the heartwood: Cypressence, a honey-coloured clear oil, or Blue Cypress Oil.

Unlike the Myrtaceae (tea tree) and Eucalyptus, where the essential oil is found in the leaves, the most interesting essential oil from Callitris intratropica is found within the wood of the tree. The trees are completely utilised, including the root bolus. The heartwood of the tree, which is the source of most of the oil, comprises about 70% of the total trunk weight. A small mature tree will yield about 220mls (6.75oz) of the oil. Small amounts of essential oil are to be found in the leaves, terpenoid in nature, with a strong pine/turpentine note.

Following transportation to the production site, the harvested logs are chipped. The wood chips are milled into fine particles, and the milled chip is loaded into baskets and steamed. Next, the vaporized oils are extracted and condensed, and the resultant condensates separated into water and oils. The water is returned to the process, while the oil is drawn off and stored. This distillation process operates at low pressure to prevent causing any harm to the essential oil.

Using proprietary methods developed by the Australian Cypress Oil company, the essential oil is then subjected to further processing to remove certain compounds, and to standardise hue, colour intensity, organoleptic qualities, other physical properties and chemical constituent ratios.

By-products of the primary and secondary essential oils are processed and recovered as single chemical entities, again using proprietary processes.

The processes developed exclusively by the Australian Cypress Oil company have allowed the resulting essential oil to be produced commercially for the first time - anywhere in the world.

Packaging
For quantities of less than 20 litres, the products are packed in Tournaire aluminium flasks.
Quantities of 20 litres or more are shipped in 316 stainless steel drums.

Oil qualities
The essential oil of Callitris intratropica contains more than 90 separate chemicals, including selinenes, guaienes, guaiol, lactones, eudesmols and elemol. It has a woody, smoky fragrance.

It is believed that Blue Cypress Oil is unique in the world of essential oils. It's the only essential oil derived from wood to naturally contain guaiazulene, the quality which confers its blue colour. This quality also allows it to have pharmaceutical applications. All other natural blue oils are flower oils (such as Chamomile, Matricaria, Artemisia and Tansy), which lack the individual fragrance of Blue Cypress Oil. The flower oils all contain chamazulene.

Aesthetically important, the blue colour has favourable connotations in all cultures. All existing blue oils have anti-inflammatory properties. While Blue Cypress Oil and Chamomile Oil have similar low volatility profiles, Blue Cypress Oil is one-third the price of Chamomile Oil and is more colour-stable.

Aromatically speaking, Blue Cypress Oil has similarities to Sandalwood Oil (Santalum album), West Indian Sandalwood Oil (Amyris balsamifera ), Oil of Guaiac Wood (Bulnesia sarmienti) and Vetiver Oil (Vetiveria zizanioides) and some of the Cedarwood oils, particularly Juniperus virginiana. Long-lasting warm, woody base notes with earthy and smoky tones summarise the organoleptic qualities of the oil.

Blue Cypress Oil is seen as viable in many cosmetic applications, and as a therapeutic lternative to use in such instances as dealing with the many varieties of human papilloma virus.

Cypressence Clear oil has similar aromatic notes to those of Blue Cypress Oil, but with a sweeter overtone.

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