What is "pine oil"

Pine \Pine\, n. [AS. p[=i]n, L. pinus.]

1. (Bot.) Any tree of the coniferous genus Pinus. See Pinus.

   Note: There are about twenty-eight species in the United States, of which the white pine ( Pinus Strobus), the Georgia pine ( Pinus australis), the red pine ( Pinus resinosa), and the great West Coast sugar pine ( Pinus Lambertiana) are among the most valuable. The Scotch pine or fir, also called Norway or Riga pine ( Pinus sylvestris), is the only British species. The nut pine is any pine tree, or species of pine, which bears large edible seeds. See Pinon. [1913 Webster] The spruces, firs, larches, and true cedars, though formerly considered pines, are now commonly assigned to other genera.

2. The wood of the pine tree.

3. A pineapple. Ground pine. (Bot.) See under Ground. Norfolk Island pine (Bot.), a beautiful coniferous tree, the Araucaria excelsa. Pine barren, a tract of infertile land which is covered with pines. [Southern U.S.] Pine borer (Zo["o]l.), any beetle whose larv[ae] bore into pine trees. Pine finch. (Zo["o]l.) See Pinefinch, in the Vocabulary. Pine grosbeak (Zo["o]l.), a large grosbeak ( Pinicola enucleator), which inhabits the northern parts of both hemispheres. The adult male is more or less tinged with red. Pine lizard (Zo["o]l.), a small, very active, mottled gray lizard ( Sceloporus undulatus), native of the Middle States; -- called also swift, brown scorpion, and alligator. Pine marten. (Zo["o]l.)

   1. A European weasel ( Mustela martes), called also sweet marten, and yellow-breasted marten.

   2. The American sable. See Sable.

      Pine moth (Zo["o]l.), any one of several species of small tortricid moths of the genus Retinia, whose larv[ae] burrow in the ends of the branchlets of pine trees, often doing great damage.

      Pine mouse (Zo["o]l.), an American wild mouse ( Arvicola pinetorum), native of the Middle States. It lives in pine forests.

      Pine needle (Bot.), one of the slender needle-shaped leaves of a pine tree. See Pinus.

      Pine-needle wool. See Pine wool (below).

      Pine oil, an oil resembling turpentine, obtained from fir and pine trees, and used in making varnishes and colors.

      Pine snake (Zo["o]l.), a large harmless North American snake ( Pituophis melanoleucus). It is whitish, covered with brown blotches having black margins. Called also bull snake. The Western pine snake ( Pituophis Sayi) is chestnut-brown, mottled with black and orange.

      Pine tree (Bot.), a tree of the genus Pinus; pine.

      Pine-tree money, money coined in Massachusetts in the seventeenth century, and so called from its bearing a figure of a pine tree. The most noted variety is the pine tree shilling.

      Pine weevil (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of weevils whose larv[ae] bore in the wood of pine trees. Several species are known in both Europe and America, belonging to the genera Pissodes, Hylobius, etc.

      Pine wool, a fiber obtained from pine needles by steaming them. It is prepared on a large scale in some of the Southern United States, and has many uses in the economic arts; -- called also pine-needle wool, and pine-wood wool.

n. a mixture of monoterpene alcohols obtained from various species of ''Pinus'', rich in α-terpineol

Pine oil is an essential oil obtained by the steam distillation of needles, twigs and cones from a variety of species of pine, particularly Pinus sylvestris.

It is used in aromatherapy, as a scent in bath oils, as a cleaning product, and as a lubricant in small and expensive clockwork instruments. It is naturally deodorizing, and antibacterial. It may also be used varyingly as a disinfectant, massage oil and an antiseptic. It is also used as an effective organic herbicide where its action is to modify the waxy cuticle of plants, resulting in desiccation.

Pine oil is distinguished from other products from pine, such as turpentine, the low-boiling fraction from the distillation of pine sap, and rosin, the thick tar remaining after turpentine is distilled.

Chemically, pine oil consists mainly of cyclic terpene alcohols. It may also contain terpene hydrocarbons, ethers, and esters. The exact composition depends on various factors, such as the variety of pine from which it is produced and the parts of the tree used.