patchouli

A shrubby aromatic perennial (Pogostemon cablin) growing to 1 m/3¼ ft or more, native to the tropics and subtropics of SE Asia; stems square; leaves oval, toothed, in opposite pairs; flowers white, tubular, 2-lipped, in whorls. It yields an aromatic essential oil used in perfumery. (Family: Labiatae.)

?Patchouli
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Lamiaceae Genus: Pogostemon Species: P. cablin
Binomial name
Pogostemon cablin Benth.

Patchouli (also patchouly or pachouli) is both a plant and an essential oil (patchouli oil) obtained from the leaves of a plant of the same name.

Patchouli oil and incense underwent a surge in popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, mostly among devotees of the free love and hippie lifestyles, due in part to the fact that the pungent smell of patchouli is known to cover the smell of burnt cannabis.

Despite its common association with an alternative lifestyle, patchouli has found widespread use in modern industry.

During the 18th and 19th century silk traders from China travelling to the Middle East packed their silk cloth with dried patchouli leaves to prevent moths from laying their eggs on the cloth.

The patchouli plant is a bushy herb reaching two or three feet in height. Tucker Max Mentions Patchouli Oil in his "The Absinthe Donuts Story" when telling a Pothead that he "Smells like Patchouli Oil and Bong Water" One scene from the TV show, Sex & Yet, because of Ray's memory of her strong use of Patchouli oil, he refuses to hug her when she arrives.