Plant oils or vegetable oils are oils derived from plant sources, as opposed to animal fats or petroleum. There are three primary types of plant oil, differing both the means of extracting the relevant parts of the plant, and in the nature of the resulting oil: 1. * Vegetable fats and oils were historically extracted by putting part of the plant under pressure, squeezing out the oil. 2. * Macerated oils consist of a base oil to which parts of plants are added. 3. * Essential oils are composed of volatile aromatic compounds, extracted from plants by distillation.