Crop Details
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Botanical Name: Artemisia pallens
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Common Name: Davana, Sagebrush
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Family: Asteraceae
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Cultivars: Native
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Origin: India
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Distribution: South India
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Habitat: Dry deciduous forests
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Habit: Aromatic, Suffruticose, Xerophyte, 60 cm height (Suffruticose: woody in the
lower part of the stem, but with yearly branches herbaceous)
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Duration: Naturally perennial (Nov-Feb, 4 months crop)
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Leaf: Silvery grey or bluish green scented leaves
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Flower: Racemose panicles bear numerous small yellow flower heads or capitula
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Flowering Season: January - February
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Fruit: Cypsela or achene
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Sunlight: Full
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Water Requirement: Low
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Soil Texture: Red loamy
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Soil pH: 6-7
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Salinity Tolerance: High
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Propagation: Seed, cuttings
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Cultural Practices: Cultivated or wild harvested. Small seeds are germinated when kept
in moist cloth for two days. The sprouted seeds are uniformly broadcast. It is also
allelopathic that is it secretes chemicals into the ground which inhibit or suppresses other
plants growth. The essential oil content was found to be higher at the full emergence of
flower heads. The crop is harvested in bright sun and is later air dried.
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Economic Part: The oil is mainly present in the flowers and leaves
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Crop Yield: 12 ton herbage/acre; 4 kg oil/acre
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Chemistry: Davanone, Davan-Ether, Davana Furane and linalool are the major
constituents of davana oil. Methyl cinnamate, ethyl cinnamate, bicyclogermacrene,
davana ether, 2-hydroxyisodavanone, farnesol, geranyl acetate, sequiterpene lactones,
germacranolides, etc. are also found. The contents of davanone, the major constituent of
davana oil, and linalool decreased while those of (Z)- and (E)-methyl cinnamate, (E)-ethyl
cinnamate, bicyclogermacrene, davana ether, 2-hydroxyisodavanone, and farnesol
increased from flower heads emergence stage to the initiation of seed set stage. Five
compounds, viz., (Z)- and (E)- methyl cinnamates, (Z)- and (E)- ethyl cinnamates, and
geranyl acetate, were identified for the first time in davana oil.
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Caution: People with allergies should apply caution when using davana oil.
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