Rosemary camphor essential oil is obtained by steam distillation of the branches and flowers, a botanical species Rosmarinus officinalis L. belonging to the Lamiaceae family.
Rosemary is an aromatic, woody, evergreen shrub that is highly branched and occasionally stunted and can grow up to 2 meters in height. The young stems are covered with fluff —which disappears as they grow—, as they age, they turn reddish in color and the bark is cracked.
The leaves, small and very abundant, have a linear shape. They are opposite, sessile, whole, with the edges downwards and of a dark green color, while on the underside they have a whitish color and are covered with villi. In the area of union of the leaf with the stem, the flower bouquets are born.
The flowers are about 5 mm long. They have the bilabial corolla in one piece. The color is pale violet blue, pink or white, with a green or somewhat reddish calyx, also bilabied and flared. They are axillary flowers, very aromatic and melliferous; they are located at the top of the branches, they have two bent stamens welded to the corolla and with a small tooth.
The fruit, enclosed at the bottom of the calyx, is made up of four 1.5-3 by 1-2 mm nocules, ovoid, flattened, light brown in color with a light spot in the insertion area.
Rosmarinus officinalis L. is produced throughout the year.