Clean, woody-floral, and linalool-dominant. Fresh and slightly citrus-tinged, like a simplified rosewood. Less complex than true rosewood oil, which has deeper, more layered qualities from trace sesquiterpenes. More woody and less sweet than synthetic linalool. A clean, pleasant woodiness that is unassertive and easy to blend.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Clean woody-floral, linalool freshness, citrus hint
After a few hours
After a few hours
Soft woody warmth, simplified rosewood character
After a few days
After a few days
Gentle clean wood trace, pleasant and fading
Terroir & Maturity
Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.
The Full Story
Ho wood oil is steam-distilled from the wood and leaves of Cinnamomum camphora var. linaloolifera, a chemotype of the camphor tree that produces oil dominated by linalool (90-98%) rather than camphor. The tree is cultivated in China and Taiwan, providing an abundant, renewable source of natural linalool.
Ho wood has become the primary sustainable replacement for rosewood oil (Aniba rosaeodora), which is severely restricted due to deforestation of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. The two oils share a similar linalool-dominated profile: fresh, woody-floral, clean, and slightly citrus-tinged. Ho wood is somewhat simpler and less complex than true rosewood, which contains additional trace compounds that give it deeper character.
The key advantage of ho wood is sustainability: Cinnamomum camphora is a fast-growing plantation tree that can be coppiced (harvested and regrown) repeatedly, unlike rosewood, which requires felling mature forest trees.
The same tree species (Cinnamomum camphora) produces completely different essential oils depending on its chemotype: the camphor chemotype yields camphor, the linalool chemotype yields ho wood oil, and the 1,8-cineole chemotype yields ravintsara-like oil. Genetics determines chemistry.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Steam distillation of wood chips and leaves of Cinnamomum camphora var. linaloolifera. Oil contains 90-98% linalool. Plantation-grown in China (Jiangxi, Fujian provinces) and Taiwan. Coppiced sustainably -- trees regrow after harvest.
Ho wood functions as a heart note and natural linalool source. Used as a rosewood replacement in woody-floral, fresh, and aromatic compositions. Provides natural linalool character in compositions marketed as natural or botanical. Works in clean, fresh, and floral-woody fragrances. Also used as a natural raw material for linalool isolation.
