Welcome To
Semper Phyte
California Native Essential Oils
Phyte On!
Our website is still under construction. Please bear with us as we build it!
About Us

Learning by doing & schooling
Ron fell into the botany field completely by accident while taking an introductory biology class that was taught by Joeseph Keefe. Joe had been the college's botany teacher until the classes had been removed from the curriculum just before Ron started there.
Joe gave Ron some lessons on keying plants using the Munz (the predecessor to the 1993 Jepson Manual) and after some time began doing it on his own.
Ron continued on the botany path by working at the Theodore Payne Foundation where he gained a deep interest in seed collection and propagation. He went on to briefly attend college in Oregon, but ultimately found himself at Humboldt State (now Cal Poly Humboldt) where he finished his bachelors in Botany.
Jobs were always a challenge to find in the botany field, but he never quit trying to stay within it. Ron went on to spend many years traveling the western US working brief jobs for federal agencies, contractor jobs for major infrastructure projects and a few years working for the State of California (where he meet Gabriella). In the last few years Ron clenched a slightly different, but more rewarding career path working for the United States Marine Corps.
Forging ahead and diversifying
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Ron used the knowledge he obtained from organic chemistry and applied it to distilling essential oil from our native plant species.
Testing dozens of species for distillation has proven to be a thrilling experience and each new species is a new chance for discovery.
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As Ron traveled around California he distilled dozens of different species and gained more experience.
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Ron diversified by creating a soap recipe which he incorporated the distilled oils into.
![IMG_20160506_090059483[1].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/797d1a_d3f6cf41ceb243a6adf4cbee562f5b17.jpg/v1/fill/w_251,h_446,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/IMG_20160506_090059483%5B1%5D.jpg)
![IMG_20160513_140339955[1].jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/797d1a_9ca1a76853bc4579a277e40738bfe1ac.jpg/v1/fill/w_258,h_458,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/IMG_20160513_140339955%5B1%5D.jpg)
Looking to the future
Ron and Gabriella have become a distillation team dedicated to California's native flora. They hope their distillation work brings a new source of intrigue into the botanical field.
The Story of Our Name
Ron chose the name “Semper Phyte” to symbolize his dedication to the botany field and dabble in his appreciation of Latin, which is the origin of the English language. The word “phyte” stems from the Greek root word phytón, meaning "plant". Phyte describes plants with specific characteristics or habitats. Our specific habitat is the state of California, with a focus on southern California.