Buchu

The fragrant Buchu is found solely in South Africa’s Western Cape area where it is sometimes referred to as “The Cape’s First Doctor.” Buchu’s medicinal value was first recognized by the Khoisan peoples going back at least 2300 hundred years in the region. Khoisan folklore teaches that everything that is created has different degrees of supernatural intensity, and that trees & plants are higher beings that make themselves known through their scent. To the Khoisan, Buchu’s strong scent is associated with physical and mental transformation, encouraging one’s interior body to be in the “right place” and fully awakened through the senses while remaining still and receptive to their surroundings.

Medicinally, Buchu leaves have been traditionally used  for UTI’s, menstrual cramps, prostate care, low sperm count, cystitis, gonorrhea, as an insect repellant, for treating various skin ailments and much more. Powdered buchu leaf is used to make vinegars, tonics, teas and tinctures, as well as infused oil for topical salves and ointments.

While the essential oil of Buchu is not commonly used in aromatherapy due to its pulegone content, its scent perception carries another message worthy of our attention. A scent that transforms depending on who’s smelling it and when. A scent that can seem fruity, like blackberries and black currant or minty and herbaceous, or a scent that can smell animalistic and cat urine like. A scent that one moment may seem deliciously enticing or down right stomach turning & revolting. A scent that carries a message we may feel in different areas of our bodies uniquely. For the natural perfumer or perfume therapist, Buchu’s aroma profile provides a vehicle with interesting olfactory potential if used diligently, and with full awareness and respect for its transformational power, in the “right place”. RARE!