Rowan & Thistle

PLATE No. 045

Ingredient Collection

Meadowfoam Oil

Limnanthes alba

Botanical plate of Meadowfoam (Limnanthes alba): a flowering stem with finely divided leaves and white five-petaled flowers with yellow centers, a flower seen from below, a bud, a ribbed green seed capsule, a capsule cut open, and loose golden seeds.

Figure Key

  • Fig. 1 Main flowering plant
  • Fig. 2 Flower viewed from below
  • Fig. 3 Flower bud
  • Fig. 4 Mature seed capsule
  • Fig. 5 Seed capsule, cut open
  • Fig. 6 Seeds

The Ingredient

Meadowfoam is a small Pacific Northwest wildflower named for the blanket of white blooms it creates across a field. Hidden inside its seeds is an unusually rich oil with a composition quite different from most familiar plant oils. Its distinctive fatty acids—natural components of plant oils—help it form a light, conditioning layer that slows moisture loss and leaves skin and hair remarkably soft and smooth.

From Plant to Ingredient

  1. Meadowfoam Oil, step 1 — Flower: an open white five-petaled flower with a yellow center on a green stalk.

    1. Flower

    The white blooms give meadowfoam its name.

  2. Meadowfoam Oil, step 2 — Seed: three ribbed golden-brown seeds.

    2. Seed

    After flowering, the plant develops the oil-rich seeds we use.

  3. Meadowfoam Oil, step 3 — Seed Oil: a small pool of pale golden oil.

    3. Seed Oil

    The seeds yield a light, silky botanical oil.

Why We Chose It

Meadowfoam delivers lasting conditioning without the heavy, greasy feel of many richer oils. It helps slow moisture loss and leaves both skin and hair softer, smoother, and well conditioned, making it remarkably versatile. Grown primarily here in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, it also lets us source closer to home—supporting regional agriculture while reducing the distance an ingredient travels to reach us.

What You'll Notice

  • Lasting Softness — Helps reduce moisture loss so skin and hair feel softer and better conditioned.
  • Smooth, Silky Feel — Provides rich conditioning without a heavy or greasy finish.
  • Comfort for Dryness — Helps soften rough, dry-feeling skin and improves the feel of dry hair.

Botanical Profile

Scientific Name
Limnanthes alba
INCI Name
Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil
Plant Part Used
Seeds
Final Ingredient
Cold-Pressed Botanical Oil
Origin
Oregon, USA

A Closer Look

Meadowfoam is a rare example of a wildflower becoming a modern crop within a single generation. Oregon State University researchers began developing it as an oilseed crop in the 1970s, transforming a Pacific Northwest native into the distinctive botanical oil grown in Oregon today.

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