Essential oils
Besides tea, the Nilgiris is also known for its coffee (which is grown on the lower heights since 1837), honey, potatoes and medicinal plants of which there are more than 200 varieties. It is also known for its essential oils. There is a Medicinal and Essential Oils Factory at Naduvattam, 32 km. from Ooty on the Ooty- Mysore Road, 1 km. from the bazaar, Naduvattam is the place where Chinese prisoners of war were detained by the British and used to build the railway and to help maintain the infant tea industry. These prisoners built the Lawrence School at Lovedale too
Eucalyptus oil is almost synonymous with the Nilgiris. Commonly used to treat colds and headaches by external application, taken orally, it reduces sore throats and fever. The blue gum tree, whose silvery blue green leaves gave the Nilgiris the sobriquet of the Blue Mountains, is one of the varieties of eucalyptus from which the oil is distilled. Eucalyptus was introduced in 1843 because it grows very quickly and the British needed regular and plentiful supplies of fuel
Oil yielding grasses like lemon grass are used to flavor soups and stews, and one or two drops of its oil makes your tea a very special brew. Peppermint oil is used in confectionery. Geranium oil, from the leaves of the geranium plant, is a perfume base mixed with attar of roses for making soaps and perfumes. Citronella or pyrethrum is the base in almost all mosquito repellents and other insecticides. Citradora oil is used to control dandruff and encourage hair growth, gaultheria oil for relief of arthritis and muscular pains, clove oil for relief from toothaches and bad breath and for removing stains in teeth