Nilam was the Sumatran name for the patchouli plant — Pogostemon Cablin Benth. — and for the essential oil distilled from its leaves. On Java the same plant is called dilem. On Sumatra the chief centres of cultivation are on the Westkust van Atjeh at Tjalang, Meulaboh and Tapa Toean, and on the Oostkust at Langsa. Soil and climate in Atjeh appear naturally more favourable to the plant than on Java, where the oil, though of respectable constants, has ‘lang niet zoo intensief’ an odour. The Atjeh nilam-oil is the subject of Ir. W. Spoon’s Atjeh Patchouli-Olie.
See Also
- Dilem
- Pogostemon Cablin (patchouli plant)
- Patchouli-olie industry in Atjeh
- Tapa Toean
- Tjalang
- Meulaboh
- Langsa
- 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.