Dilem was the Javanese name for the patchouli plant — Pogostemon Cablin Benth. — and for the essential oil distilled from its leaves. On Sumatra the same plant is called nilam. The Java dilem-oil is exported mainly to Japan, the Netherlands, France and Germany, and has its own direct trade-channels, not via Singapore. The quality of the Java dilem-oil differs somewhat from that of the oil from Atjeh-leaf: the scent is ‘lang niet zoo intensief’; the differences are presumably connected with the growing-conditions — soil and climate appear in Atjeh naturally more favourable to the plant than on Java.
See Also
- Nilam
- Pogostemon Cablin (patchouli plant)
- Patchouli-olie industry in Atjeh
- Atjeh Patchouli-Olie (1932)
- Ir. W. Spoon
Source
Atjeh Patchouli-Olie, by Ir. W. Spoon. Berichten van de Afdeeling Handelsmuseum van de Kon. Vereeniging Koloniaal Instituut, No. 71 (1932).
Source
Verkenningen in Atjeh, by Dr. R. Broersma (De Locomotief, October 1923); Atjeh Patchouli-Olie, by Ir. W. Spoon (1932), where applicable.