Palmarosa is a perennial grass that grows in the wild in India close to the Himalayas. It is not known when the oil was distilled for the first time in India but crushed leaves were used to purfume bath water and in poultices to relieve nerve and rheumatic pain. The oil was traded between India and Persia and then shipped to Constantinople where it became known to Eruopean traders. In Ayurveda records from the fourteenth century, palmarosa was used for all kind s of ailments including cough, heart disease, sinusitis, bleeding disorders, epilepsy, fever, anorexia, and scorpion bites. It was also used topically as insect repellent. Today it is extensively used as fragrance for soaps.