ESSENTIAL OILS 15 
» The variety hamatulus is of very local occurrence in the Phil- 
ippines, is nowhere cultivated, and is apparently not used in the 
Archipelago. It is distributed from the northern to the southern 
limits of the Philippines. 
ANDROPOGON ZIZANIOIDES (L.) Urb. (Fig. 59).  VeErTIvER or Moras. 
Local names: Amora (Cebu); amoras (Ilocos Norte); anids or anids 
de moras (Pampanga); anis de moro (Ilocos Sur, Abra); gerén, girén 
(lloilo) ; ilib (Pampanga); mora or moras (Pampanga, Tarlac, Rizal, Ma- 
nila, Laguna, Camarines, Albay, Sorsogon, Antique, Cebu, Occidental Ne- 
gros); rimddas (Capiz); riméra (Zambales); riméras (Camarines) ; tres 
moras (Capiz). 
VETIVER OIL 
» Oil obtained from the roots of this grass is known as vetiver 
- 
and also as cuscus. The oil is obtained by steam-distilling the 
roots which are first macerated in water. It has been employed 
as an aromatic, carminative and diaphoretic. It is used con- 
siderably as a constituent of high grade perfumes and also as 
a perfume fixative, which makes the odors less volatile and more 
lasting. 
According to Askinson,* the roots are used in India for making 
fragrant mats, while shavings are employed for filling sachet 
bags. The odor of the roots is somewhat similar to that of 
sandal wood. Fans made of the roots are sold in oriental-curio 
shops in the United States under the name of “sandal-root” fans. 
Piesse + states that in Calcutta, vetiver (vitivert or kus-kus) is 
made into awnings and sunshades. During the hot season the 
shades are sprinkled with water, the evaporation of which cools 
the apartment, while the atmosphere is perfumed with the fra- 
grant odor. 
In the Philippines, the roots are woven into fans which are 
» prized on account of their agreeable odor. The stalks are also 
used for making hats, while the leaves are sometimes employed 
for thatching. 
According to Watt,t the roots of Andropogon zizanioides— 
* * * When distilled with water yield a fragrant Oil (known in 
European trade as Vetiver, which is used as a perfume and for flavouring 
sherbet. It commands a high price in Europe, being employed in many 
favourite scents. It is the most viscid of essential oils, and hence its sparing 
volatility is taken advantage of in fixing other perfumes. The oil is 
hardly, if ever, exported from India, European supplies being either locally 

* Askinson, G. W., Perfumes and cosmetics (1915), pages 54, 178, 225. 
+ Piesse, C. H., Art of perfumery (1891), page 233. 
+ Watt, George, The commercial products of India (1908), page 1106. 
