Spikenard, green(Nardostachys jatamansi) essential oil/Nepal(wild harvested

Images of Spikenard/Nardostachys jatamansi
More images of Spikenard



Olfactory Properties of Spikenard, Green(Nardostachys jatamansi)/Nepal(wild harvest)
Before commenting specifically on this particular batch of green spikenard oil from Nepal I would like to mention again that every olfactory analysis of essential oils needs to be batch specific. The rule in nature is variation and one cannot honestly expect to have an exact olfactory profile from any natural essential oil from batch batch. Many factors influence the qualities of the oil as has been mentioned before. In the case of oils distilled from roots one has to factor in the age of the roots, the soil it is growing in(and this is a major factor with root oils because the distilled material is in direct contact with the earth), the time of year when it is harvested etc. I have smelled numerous batches of spikenard, angelica, vetiver, etc and if one devotes some time to their study one would be amazed to see how various they are in their aromas.
No
The light green oil of wild harvested Spikenard from Nepal displays a rich, deep, mossy-earthy-rooty, precious woods bouquet with a heavy spicy-animalic undertone.
The depth and richness of the oil reveal itself through all stages of its aromatic life which is a long one-many hours. Deep into the dry-out the earth- precious woods note predominates. It is a fine fixative oil but needs to be used with great discretion as it can easily dominate a composition if to much is used.

Blends beautifully with aglaia odorata abs; agarwood eo and co2; amberi attar; ambrette seed eo, co2 and abs; araucaria eo; arnica absolute; artemisia eo's; birch tar eo; birch sweet eo; black currant abs; black musk attar; cade eo; calamus eo and co2; cardamon eo, co2 and abs; cedarleaf eo; cinnamon bark eo, co2 and absolute; cedarwood oils; cistus eo and abs; costus eo, co2 and abs; cypress eo and abs; davana eo; fennel eo and co2; fenugreek eo and co2; frankincense eo, co2 and abs; genda attar; ginger eo, co and abs; hop eo and co2; juniperberry eo, co2 and abs; labdanum eo and abs; lavindin eo and abs; henna leaf abs and co2; lavender eo, co2 and abs; mate absolute; myrrh eo, co2 and abs; nagarmotha eo and co2; oakmoss abs; orris root eo, co2 and abs; patchouli eo and co2 and abs; pine needle eo and abs; sandalwood eo, co2 and abs; shamama attar; tea, black abs; tonka bean abs; vetiver eo, co2 and abs; violet leaf abs; yarrow eo


In perfumery it is used in incense compositions, apothecary creations, fougeres, sacred perfumes,Oriental bases, precious woods bouquets, amber bases, heavy exotic florals, musk accords, literary perfumes


Interesting facts about spikenard
1. The medicated oil for massage is extremely useful for smooth, silky and healthy hair.
2. The local people also use the rhizome for making incense by mixing it with the powder of Juniper and Sunpati.
3. Spikenard is one of the most common ingredients in ancient Japanese incense recipes.
4. The oil was known in ancient times and was part of the Ayurvedic herbal tradition of India. It was obtained as a luxury in ancient Egypt, the Near East, and Rome, where it was the main ingredient of the perfume nardinium.
5. In Ayurveda, spikenard is mentioned by the three earliest medical writers, Charak, Sushruta, and Vagbhatta. It was used primarily for mental problems. Sushruta said that it was good for over talking, laughing, singing, and crying, aimless roaming, overeating, dressing strangely, and persons of a difficult nature.

Spikenard in Literature
The road along which the procession was to pass had been strewn with
fine yellow sand. Brazen tripods, disposed along the way at regular
intervals, sent up to heaven the odorous smoke of cinnamon and
spikenard. These vapours, moreover, alone clouded the purity of the
azure above. The clouds of a hymeneal day ought, indeed, to be formed
only by the burning of perfumes.
KING CANDAULES
By Theophile Gautier

Let you be going down the markets, and what would you see for sale?
Boots, clothes, bread? No, they were out of sight; but scattered on
the booths, the like of farls of bread on a fair-day, you'd find cloves
and nutmegs, mace and ebony from Moluccas, that had come by way of
Alexandria and the Syrian ports; sandalwood from Timor, in Asia;
camphor from Borneo. Sumatra and Java sent benzoin to her markets.
Cochin China sent bitter aloes-wood. From China and Japan and from
Siam came gum, spices, silks, chessmen, and curiosities for the parlor.
Rubies from Peru, fine cloths from Coromandel, and finer still from
Bengal. They got spikenard from Nepaul and Bhutan. Their diamonds were
from Golconda. From Nirmul they purchased Damascus steel for their
swords. Nor is that all you'd see, and you'd be going down by the
markets on a sunny morning, and a fine-thinking, low-voiced woman on
your arm. You'd see pearls and sapphires, topaz and cinnamon from
Ceylon; lac and agates, brocades and coral from Cambay; hammered
vessels and inlaid weapons and embroidered shawls from Cashmere. As
for spices, never would your nostrils meet such an odor: bdellium from
Scinde, musk from Tibet, galbanum from Khorasan; from Afghanistan,
asafetida; from Persia, sagapenum; ambergris and civet from Zanzibar,
and from Zanzibar came ivory, too. And from Zeila, Berbera, and Shehri
came balsam and frankincense...
Messer Marco Polo, by Brian Oswald Donn-Byrne

The Rose

All Orient odors, spikenard, balm and myrrh,
Perfumes of Araby and farthest Ind--
Sweet incense from the chaliced heart of her
She pours upon the feet of every wind.
The Path of Dreams, by Leigh Gordon Giltner

Six days before the passover, Jesus came to Bethany where He
had raised Lazarus from the dead. There they made Him a supper. Martha
served. Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him. Then Mary
took a pound of very costly ointment of spikenard and anointed the feet
of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair. The house was filled with
the fragrance of the ointment. Then saith one of His disciples, Judas
Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, Why was not this ointment
sold for its great worth and given to the poor? This he said not that
he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and held the bag, and
minded what was put therein. Jesus said, Let her alone. Against the day
of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you;
but me ye have not always.
The Gospel of John for Readers

It was the "Eldorado" of remote antiquity. Thither, in the dawn of
recorded history, had gone the Phoenician galleys, full of hook-nosed
men in purple and brass, their beards scented with spikenard. From the
mining towns that they built in the jungle, surrounded by cyclopean
walls and adorned with grotesque stone images, came the stores of gold
with which the Sidonians enriched King Solomon. To-day all those
workings were apparently exhausted. The Zimbabwe--the cities of
stone--had crumbled; the jungle had closed in; and in that wilderness
only a heap of rubble, or the choked mouth of a pit, remained here and
there to mark the source of the metal that had gilded the temple at
Jerusalem, and the Semitic shrines to Baal and Astoreth.
Sacrifice, by Stephen French Whitman

A word in reference to the unguents with which you have just been rubbed. They were of all kinds; you have seen the shops where they were sold. They were perfumed with myrrh, spikenard, and cinnamon; there was the Egyptian unguent for the feet and legs, the Phœnician for the cheeksPg 130 and the breast, and the Sisymbrian for the two arms; the essence of marjoram for the eyebrows and the hair, and that of wild thyme for the nape of the neck and the knees. These unguents were very dear, but they kept up youth and health.
The Wonders of Pompeii, by Marc Monnier

He worked with amber and with Tonkin musk, marvelously powerful; with patchouli, the most poignant of vegetable perfumes whose flower, in its habitat, wafts an odor of mildew. Try what he would, the eighteenth century obsessed him; the panier robes and furbelows appeared before his eyes; memories of Boucher's Venus haunted him; recollections of Themidor's romance, of the exquisite Rosette pursued him. Furious, he rose and to rid himself of the obsession, with all his strength he inhaled that pure essence of spikenard, so dear to Orientals and so repulsive to Europeans because of its pronounced odor of valerian. He was stunned by the violence of the shock. As though pounded by hammer strokes, the filigranes of the delicate odor disappeared; he profited by the period of respite to escape the dead centuries, the antiquated fumes, and to enter, as he formerly had done, less limited or more recent works.
Against The Grain, by Joris-Karl Huysmans


The Persians seem to have been connoisseurs in scents. We are told that, when the royal tiara was not in wear, it was laid up carefully with a mixture of myrrh and labyzus, to give it an agreeable odor. Unguents were thought to have been a Persian invention, and at any rate were most abundantly used by the upper classes of the nation. The monarch applied to his own person an ointment composed of the fat of lions, palm wine, saffron, and the herb helianthes, which was considered to increase the beauty of the complexion. He carried with him, even when he went to the wars, a case of choice unguents; and such a treasure fell into the hands of Alexander, with the rest of Darius's camp equipage, at Arbela. It may be suspected that the "royal ointment" of the Parthian kings, composed of cinnamon, spikenard, myrrh, cassia, gum styrax, saffron, cardamum, wine, honey, and sixteen other ingredients, was adopted from the Persians, who were far more likely than the rude Parthians to have invented so recondite a mixture. Nor were scents used only in this form by the ingenious people of whom we are speaking. Arabia was required to furnish annually to the Persian crown a thousand talents' weight of frankincense; and there is reason to believe that this rare spice was largely employed about the Court, since the walls of Persepolis have several representations of censers, which are sometimes carried in the hands of an attendant, while sometimes they stand on the ground immediately in front of the Great King.
THE SEVEN GREAT MONARCHIES
BY
GEORGE RAWLINSON, M.A.,

Links for Spikenard/Nardostachys jatamansi
Himalayan Health Care
Institute of Traditional Medicine
Plants of the Holy Land
Vegetable Materia Medica of India
Duke's Handbook of Medicinal Plants
Cultivation and Utilization of Aromatic Plants
Odorgoraphia: A natural history of raw materials used in Perfumery

Geranium(Pelergonium graveolens)/Himalayas, India(organic)

Olfactory qualities of Geranium(Pelargonium graveolens)/Himalayas, India(organic)
The study of the fragrance of the essences distilled or extracted from different species of the same genus is a delightful one. In the world of natural aromatics there is an increasing number of such essential oils, absolutes, co2 extracts, hydrosols, enfleurage and attars available. In the ten years since we started our modest business and began interacting with distillers and extractors in different parts of the world, we have seen quite a number of unique essences appear that either had never been available before or were restricted to the palette of famous perfume houses. Due to world wide internet availability, better means of transporting goods via international courier, better extraction and distillation techniques and a deep interest in the aromatic treasures of the botanical world, the aspiring natural perfumer can draw upon a great variety of resources to create essences of rare and unusual beauty.

In the case of Geranium one find essential oils and absolutes of Pelargonium graveolens, Pelargonium asperum roseum, Pelargonium asperum roseum var.bourbon,etc.
It is not that there are just different species and varieties available but also distillations from the very same genus and species can present unique aromatic characteristics depending on the region which it is grown, the method of distillation and extraction, the time of harvest, etc. The olfactory explorations of these subtle and sometimes not so subtle differences is what makes the world of natural perfumery a true delight to participate in.

In the past 10 years there has been a genuine aromatic revolution within India. When I first traveled there for the purpose of exploring the countries ancient and modern aromatic traditions in the company of Ramakant Harlalka, who kindly took me to many places in that vast land where distillation and extraction was taking place, there were just a few major oils being distilled like palmarosa, lemongrass, sandalwood, peppermint, basil, cedarwood, jasmin grandiflorum, etc were being produced on a commercial scale. Many oils were being distilled in a minor way for local industry but lack of proper equipment, quality plant material, horticultural expertise etc were holding the industry back. But in the span of a decade that whole scenario changed in a dramatic way. Now there are well over a hundred essences being distilled or extracted both for commercial consumption and export.

At the time of my first explorations with Ramakant, a small quantity of high quality geranium oil was being produced in the Nilgri and Palani Hills of South India and on one of our early explorations I had a chance to visit a government field stations where such work was going on. It was a lovely experience to stand in the cool mountain atmosphere near Kodikanal and see healthy geranium plants growing, being harvested and distilled all in one place. The expertise which they developed in that field station(which eventually was closed) did not die out but was preserved and now has been transferred to the lovely rural mountain areas of Uttaranchal-a state in North India which encompasses pristine mountain valleys where farmers are growing geranium and several other aromatic crops organically. Ramakant,being the natural pioneer that he is, was instrumental in helping setting up these early projects with geranium, designing the distilling equipment appropriate for the local area and teaching the farmers how to distill their geranium crop properly under optimum conditions.

The geranium oil from the Himalayas has a sprightly fresh, sweet, green, herbaceous-minty top-note, very complex and full. Underneath it sits a delicate spicy- bouquet. In the heat-note phase the scintillating sweet minty, complex herbaceous bouquet comes to the forefront. It is this note which clearly distinguishes the rose geranium from South Africa(which is also a great favorite of mine) As Rose Geranium goes into the heart-note phase the roseaceous/herbaceous note predominates. Deep in the dry-out phase of the Himalayan Geranium, a delicate floral note emerges amidst the minty-herbaceous accord, interplaying nicely with them. The radiance and tenacity of both oils is very good. It is a real joy to sit and smell both oils side by side through the different stages of their aromatic lives.

Blends well with ambrette seed co2, eo and abs; anise, star eo and co2; artemisia oils; basil eo, co2 and abs; bergamot eo; birch, sweet eo; caraway eo and co2; cardamon eo, co2 and abs; carrot seed eo, co2 and abs; cassia bark eo and co2; cistus eo and abs; clary sage eo and abs; clove bud eo, co2 and abs; cubeb eo; cumin seed eo and abs; currant, black abs; davana eo and co2; fennel, sweet eo and co2; frankincense eo, co2 and abs; hop eo and co2; hyssop eo and abs; jasmin sambac abs; jasmin auriculatum abs; jasmin grandiflorum abs; labdanum eo and abs; lavender eo, co2 and abs; marigold eo and abs; neroli eo; orange, blood eo; orange, sweet eo; orange essence eo; orange flower abs; orange flower water abs; patchouli eo, co2 and abs; petitgrain oils; rosa damascena eo and abs; rosa centifolia abs; rosa bourbonia abs; rosa rugosa eo; rosa odorata eo; rose leaf abs; rosewood eo; tagetes eo and abs; thyme eo, co2 and abs, tuberose abs and attar; vanilla abs

In perfumery is can be used in colognes, chypres, rose bases, amber bases, herbal bouquets, high class florals, forest blends, culinary perfumes, literary perfumes

Yuzu(Citrus junos) essential oil/Japan

Olfactory Properties of Yuzu(Citus junos)/Japan
The light green oil of the yuzu fruit displays a unique green, dry, bitter, yet sweet, juicy citrus odor which has some punguent/bitter grapefruit-like characteristics coupled with the sweeter aroma of the green mandarin peel oil. The combination of sweet, dry, bitter and juicy is what gives to yuzu its unique and distinct aromatic profile amongst citrus fruits. Even though yuzu is considered a top-note oil it has a finely balanced bitter/sweet dry-out that lasts for almost an hour.

Blends well with allspice eo, co2 and abs; anise, star eo; anise, sweet eo; artemisia annua eo; basil eo's co2 and abs; bay leaf eo; benzoin abs; birch sweet eo; bucchuu leaf eo and abs; cananga eo; cardamon eo, co2 and abs; carnation abs; champaca, golden abs and attar; cistus eo; citrus oils; coriander eo and co2; davana eo; fir oils; frangipani abs; frankincense eo, co2 and abs; galangal eo; geranium eo and abs; ginger eo, co2 and abs; jasmin absolutes; jonquil abs; juniper berry eo, co2 and abs; labdanum eo and abs; laurel leaf eo and abs; lavender eo, co2 and abs; lemongrass eo; litsea cubeba eo; melissa/lemonbalm eo, co2 and abs; magnolia lily co2; marjoram, sweet eo; narcissus abs; night queen abs; orange flower abs; pennyroyal eo; peppermint eo, co2 and abs; osmanthus abs; pine oils, petitgrain oils, neroli eo; ruh kewda; sage, clary eo and abs; spearmine eo; styrax eo and abs; tagetes eo and attar(genada); verbena, lemon eo and abs; violet leaf abs; wintergreen eo; ylang eo, co2 and abs

In perfumery would serve well in geographical/historical perfume, colognes, high class florals, culinary perfumes, winter season perfume, sacred perfumes




Interesting facts about Yuzu(Citrus Juno)
1. Yuzu (Citrus junos) is a highly prized citrus favored by the Japanese. It is about the size of a Mandarin orange, yellow and quite sour with a very fragrant rind, which is the part used in cooking.
2. The Yuzu tree was introduced to Japan from China over 1000 years ago
3. t is unusual among citrus fruits in being relatively frost-hardy, due to its cold-hardy C. ichangensis ancestry, and can be grown in regions with winters as low as -5°C where more sensitive citrus would not thrive. In Japan, an ornamental version of yuzu called hana yuzu (花ゆず, 花柚子?) "flower yuzu" is also grown for its flowers rather than its fruit.
4. The fruit looks like a bulgy tangerine and the leaf is interestingly compound, the larger leaflet being connected to the stem by a smaller one. Yuzu fruits are normally harvested in autumn while still green, although the fruits eventually turn into an orange yellow colour. Their aroma is clearly different from those of other citrus fruits - a characteristic tart, dry aroma reminiscent of green grapefruit with definite overtones of mandarin orange.
5.A traditional hot bath is enjoyed in Japan in which many whole fruits, most often wrapped in cheesecloth, float in the water. This "yuzu-yu", or yuzu bath is taken on the evening of the winter solstice. One of the most popular fruits in Japan, this citrus scent is said to inspire optimism and promote a sense of well-being.
6.This sour fruit is used almost exclusively for its aromatic rind and snappy zest. Use as a decorative garnish for clear soups. Add small slivers to a variety of dishes to enhance flavor. Simmered dishes love the presence of its shredded peel. Its astringent juice makes a very tasty contribution when used in sauces, beverages, confections and vinegar. Offering many subtle tropical flavors, this fruit creates a complex taste when sweetened to make a fruit flavored drink. Dried yuzu is sometimes combined with other spices. Its striking tree makes a lovely garden ornamental.
7. The body of the taepyeongso, a Korean traditional oboe, is often made from yuzu wood.

Melissa officinalis/Lemonbalm essential oil/France(organic

Images of Lemon balm/Melissa officinalis

Olfactory Properties of Melissa/Lemon Balm essential oil/France(organic)
The light green essential oil of Lemon Balm distilled from the French grown Melissa officinalis displays a fine, fresh, ethereal, sweet lemon bouquet with a delicate green herbaceous undertone. Although the oil possesses the high sweet piercing lemon notes there is a soft airy note that interplays with the citrus bouquet softening it thereby giving it a special place in the world of natural aromatics. As the oil heads into the dryout phase a delicate floral note appears amidst the citrus-herbaceous bouquet increasing the the effect of its beauty and sweetness. It has good tenacity for a citrus centric oil.


Melissa officinalis/Lemon balm blends well with anise, star eo and co2; anise eo; beeswax abs; bois de rose/rosewood eo; broom/genet abs; calamus eo and co2; cananga eo; champaca, golden abs; champa, white flower co2; champa, white leaf eo; chamomile eo's and abs; cistus eo and abs; citrus oils; citronellaeo; coriander leaf eo; coriander seed eo and co2; cubeb eo; elemi eo and abs; eucalyptus stageriana eo; eucalyptus macarthii eo; eucalyptus citriodora eo; fennel, sweet eo and co2; fennel bitter eo; fir eo's; frangipani abs; frankincense eo, co2 and abs; galangal eo; geranium eo and abs; ginger eo, co2 and abs; hay abs; helichrysum eo and abs; honey abs; hyssop eo and co2; labdanum eo and abs; lavindin eo and abs; lavender eo, co2 and abs; lemongrass eo; litsea cubeba/may chang eo; magnolia, lily co2; neroli eo; orange blossom abs; petitgrain oils; pine eo's; rose eo's and abs; rosemary verbenone eo; ruh kewda; templin eo; verbena eo and abs; ylang eo, co2 and abs

In natural perfumery would serve nicely in literary perfumes, colognes, herbal garden creations, delicate florals, historical perfumes, apothercary perfumes, culinary creations

Interesting facts about Melissa/Lemon balm
1. The leaves have a gentle lemon scent, related to mint. At the end of the summer, small white flowers full of nectar appear. These attract bees, hence the genus name Melissa (Greek for 'honey bee'). Its flavour comes from the terpenes citronellal, citronellol, citral, and geraniol.
2. It was formerly esteemed of great use in all complaints supposed to proceed from a disordered state of the nervous system. The London Dispensary (1696) says: 'An essence of Balm, given in Canary wine, every morning will renew youth, strengthen the brain, relieve languishing nature and prevent baldness.' John Evelyn wrote: 'Balm is sovereign for the brain, strengthening the memory and powerfully chasing away melancholy.' Balm steeped in wine we are told again, 'comforts the heart and driveth away melancholy and sadness.' Formerly a spirit of Balm, combined with lemon-peel, nutmeg and angelica root, enjoyed a great reputation under the name of Carmelite water, being deemed highly useful against nervous headache and neuralgic affections.
3. Many virtues were formerly ascribed to this plant. Gerard says: 'It is profitably planted where bees are kept. The hives of bees being rubbed with the leaves of bawme, causeth the bees to keep together, and causeth others to come with them.' And again quoting Pliny, 'When they are strayed away, they do find their way home by it.'
4. Balm is frequently used as one of the ingredients of pot-pourri. Mrs. Bardswell, in The Herb Garden, mentions Balm as one of the bushy herbs that are invaluable for the permanence of their leaf-odours, which,
'though ready when sought, do not force themselves upon us, but have to be coaxed out by touching, bruising or pressing. Balm with its delicious lemon scent, is by common consent one of the most sweetly smelling of all the herbs in the garden. Balm-wine was made of it and a tea which is good for feverish colds. The fresh leaves make better tea than the dry.'

Lemon balm/Melissa officinalis in Literature
Healways thought everything of her, and last time he come home, knowing
nothing of her change, he brought her a beautiful coral pin from a port
he'd touched at somewheres up the Mediterranean. So I wrapped the little
box in a nice piece of paper and put it in my pocket, and picked her a
bunch of fresh lemon balm, and off we started."
The Country of the Pointed Firs, by Sarah Orne Jewett

But sweet herbs may be made to serve another pleasing, an æsthetic purpose. Many of them may be used for ornament. A bouquet of the pale pink blossoms of thyme and the delicate flowers of marjoram, the fragrant sprigs of lemon balm mixed with the bright yellow umbels of sweet fennel, the finely divided leaves of rue and the long glassy ones of bergamot, is not only novel in appearance but in odor. In sweetness it excels even sweet peas and roses. Mixed with the brilliant red berries of barberry and multiflora rose, and the dark-green branches of the hardy thyme, which continues fresh and sweet through the year, a handsome and lasting bouquet may be made for a midwinter table decoration, a fragrant reminder of Shakespeare's lines in "A Winter's Tale":

"Here's flowers for you;
Hot lavender, mints, savory, marjoram;
The marigold, that goes to bed wi' the sun
And with him rises weeping."
Culinary Herbs: Their Cultivation
Harvesting Curing and Uses, by M. G. Kains

Both the balm and the lavender were in full blossom; and the two scents mingled
and separated and mingled in the warm air, like the notes of two
instruments unlike, yet in harmony. The strong lemon odor of the balm,
was persistently present like the mastering chords of the violoncello,
and the fine and subtle fragrances from the myriad cells of the
pale lavender floated above and below, now distant, now melting and
disappearing, like a delicate melody. Dr. Eben was borne away from the
present, out of himself. He thrust his hand through the palings, and
gathered a crushed handful of the lavender blossoms: eagerly he inhaled
their perfume. Drawers and chests at "Gunn's" had been thick strewn with
lavender for half a century. All Hetty's clothes--Hetty herself--had
been full of the exquisite fragrance. The sound of quick pattering steps
roused him from his reverie. A bare-footed boy was driving a flock of
goats past. The child stopped and gazed intently at the stranger.
Hetty's Strange History, by Anonymous

While the vallied garden of our old neighbors was sweet with blossoms,
my mother's garden bore a still fresher fragrance--that of green growing
things; of "posies," lemon-balm, rose geranium, mint, and sage. I always
associate with it in spring the scent of the strawberry bush, or
calycanthus, and in summer of the fraxinella, which, with its tall stem
of larkspur-like flowers, its still more graceful seed-vessels and its
shining ash-like leaves, grew there in rich profusion and gave forth
from leaf, stem, blossom, and seed a pure, a memory-sweet perfume half
like lavender, half like anise.
Home Life in Colonial Days, by Alice Morse Earle

The
spring house-cleaning being just over, they shone daz-
ziingly white from afresh coat; their ranks were broken
half-way up to the house by two small "rockeries," over
which grew "Live Forever," "Old Man," "Winter Ver-
bena," and "Lemon Balm;" they were each crowned by a
geranium, the one a sweet-scented one, the other a single
scarlet.
THE UNTEMPERED WIND
BY
JOANISrA E. WOOD

I went down into the garden to search for a few
daffies in some sheltered nook to bring a spring
thought to the dinner-table. Passing the flower pit
opened to air where, to my shame be it said, I had
not ventured for a week, as my last instalment of
bulbs are blooming in the den windows, a breath
of exquisite fragrance wafted out, and I cried aloud,
" The wallflowers are in bloom ! " Straightway I
clambered down among the pots of winter-stored tea-
roses, geraniums, lemon balm, and Fuchsias, to bury
my face in the golden brown mass of velvet petals
that covered the sturdy bushes grown in many deep
boxes.
The woman errant: being some chapters from the wonder book of Barbara, the ...
By Mabel Osgood Wright

Melissa officinalis links
University of Maryland Medical Center
A Modern Herbal monograph
Plants for a Future
FAO Minor Oil Crops
Comprehensive monograph on Melissa
Therapeutic Uses
Uses in Aromatherapy

Lemon Balm recipes
Lemon Balm Tea
Lemon balm salad dressing
Carmelite water recipe
Lemon balm cologne recipe

Night Queen(Cestrum nocturnum) Absolute/ South India

Images of Night Queen/Cestrum nocturnum

Olfactory Properties of Night Queen/Rat ki Rani(Cestrum nocturnum) Absolute/South India
The very viscous light green liquid(can solidfy at cooler temperatures) of Night Queen Absolute extracted from the flowers of the Cestrum nocturnum shrub has an intensely rich sweet, fruity, honeyed spicy aroma with good tenacity and radiance. As the absolute passes through the different stages of its aromatic life the honeyed fruity note becomes less predominant with the sweet floral, spicy aroma coming to the forefront. This note remains present for more than 24 hours on a perfumer blotter.

Blends well with agleia odorata abs; ambrette seed eo, co2 and abs; arucaria eo; basil eo, co2 and abs; bay leaf eo; benzoin abs; boronia abs; broom abs; cabreuva eo cananga eo; cassie abs; cardamon eo, co2 and abs; carnation abs cascarilla eo; champa, gold abs and attar; chamomile, english/roman eo and abs; chamomile, blue/gernam; eo, co2 and abs: champa white co2, abs and eo; cinnamon bark eo, co2 and abs; clary sage eo and abs; clove budy eo, co2 and abs; copaiba balsam eo; coriander eo, co2 and abs; fir balsam abs; frangipani abs; galangal root eo; ginger eo, co2 and abs; gurjun balsam eo; hay abs; helichrysum eo and abs; henna leaf co2 and abs; jasmin absolutes(sambac, grandiflorum and auriculatum); jonquil abs; kadam attar; kewda ruh and attar; laurel leaf eo and abs; mace eo and co2; magnolia lily co2; mandarin petitgrain eo; mate abs; mimosa abs; narcissus abs; nutmeg eo and co2; orris root eo, co2 and abs; orange blossom abs; osmanthus abs; rose abs and eo's(damascena, centifolia bourbonia) sandalwood eo, co2 and abs; siamwood eo; tarragon eo and abs; tea black abs; tea green abs; tonka bean abs; tuberose abs; violet leaf abs; ylang eo, co2 and abs; lily, gardenia, rose, wall flower re-creations


In perfumery can be used in exotic oriental bouquets; tropical perfumes; high class florals; floral spicy notes; garland perfumes; sacred essences; warm-spicy florals, lily, gardenia, rose, wall flower re-creations

When I first went to live on a small farm in South India in 1971, I became acquainted with the delicious, heavy, sweet exotic scent of the Night Queen flowers as they perfumed the air as evening fell in the subtropical setting in which I lived. There is something enchanting about such incredible scents that one encounters when night begins to fall and one cannot see the source from which they originate. All of a sudden one steps into a magical fragrant world that surrounds and engulfs one in a mysterious way.

In subsequent years I encountered this woody shrub and the delicate greenish white flowers radiating its intoxicating perfume in different parts of India and when in 1998 White Lotus Aromatics was founded, it was a keen desire of mine to find some authentic source for the attar or if possible the absolute extracted from the flowers. I had been told that in Kannauj the ancient perfume center of India the attar of Night Queen was still occasionally produced, but even though I became intimately involved with the attar industry at that time I could not find anyone to produce the attar.

During a visit to Coimbatore at the base of the Nilgri Hills in South India I did come in contact with a family that were pioneers in the extraction of tuberose, jasmin sambac and jasmin grandiflorum and they had at one point established a 4 acre Night Queen flower garden that was also equiped with lights so the flowers could be harvested at night by the local villagers but they eventually had to abandon the project because the scent of the flowers was said to attract the cobras and in any case the villagers did not like work in the evening when the sun went down and when the flowers began to open(which is the point at which they need to be picked). All the extractor could do was give me a small amount of the concrete which w

Even then I maintained my interest in this flower and its fragrance although there seemed little hope that I might ever have a genuine attar or absolute of its scent.
Then early this year I established a new contact with an extractor in deep South India who had undertaken to produce the absolute an experimental basis. They were able to produce 4 kilos of concrete from the flowers out of which they were able to produce 1 kilo of absolute. They too have decided that the production of the Night Queen concrete/absolute is to labor intensive and is not cost effective but they were willing to sell the 1 kilo of absolute to me which I now have.

So now I have a limited amount of this lovely absolute to share with our customers but it is important to realize that at least from the sources currently available to me it is this small amount which I have to offer. Already 10 ounces of it is spoken for meaning that I have another 25 which are available.
Out of that I am going to take 3 ounces and divide it into 60 1/20th ounce sample sizes so the maximum number of our customers can explore this special gift of nature. The remaining 22 ounces will be sold on first come, first served basis with a maximum number of 4 ounces to any one person.
Prices for the Night Queen(Cestrum nocturnum absolute)
sample size(1/20th of an ounce)-$22.50
1/4 ounce=$100.50
1/2 ounce=$175.50
1 ounces=$300

Contemporary Night Queen/Ratrani Attar(Blend of 10% Night Queen Absolute with pure sandalwood oil)-* I have made a small amount of the Night Queen Contemporary Attar for those who wish to enjoy this essence but may not be able to afford the absolute.
Sample-$11.25
1/4 ounce-$50.25
1/2 ounce-$87.75
1 ounce-$150
4 ounces-$558

Patchouli(Pogostemon cabline) absolute/ 3-year aged essential oil(50/50 blend)/India

Patchouli(Pogostemon cabline) absolute/ 3-year aged essential oil(50/50 blend)/India
Patchouli absolute and aged patchouli essential oil both capture a certain spectrum of the patchouli essence and the combination of the two gives one a fuller expression of the aroma of this gift of nature
In the viscous dark green absolute one finds the rich deep, heavy, earthy, mossy, herbaceous dimensions of the patchouli essence and in the aged essential oil presents the beautiful complex sweet, rich, herbaceous-balsamic, somewhat spicy-musky bouquet. Both the absolute and the essential oil have very good tenacity and are excellent fixatives but together they form an accord which covers a greater aromatic spectrum of the essence contained in the plant and the blend has a greater radiant power as well.


Blends well with agarwood eo and co2; amberi attar; ambrette seed eo, co2 and abs; amryis wood eo; angelica root eo, co2 and abs; aruacaria eo; benzoin abs; birch, sweet eo; cardamon eo, co2 and abs; cassia eo and co2; cedarwood eo's and abs; cinnamon eo, co2 and abs; cistus eo and abs; citrus oils; clary sage eo and abs; clove eo, co2 and abs; copaiba balsam eo; costus root eo, co2 and abs; cypress eo and abs; elemi eo and abs; fir eo's and abs; frankincense eo, co2 and abs; galangal root eo; galbanum eo, co2 and abs; geranium eo and abs; ginger root eo, co2 and abs; guaicwood eo; hay absolute; helichrysum eo and abs; juniperberry eo, co2 and abs; labdanum abs and eo; lavindin eo and abs; lavender eo, co2 and abs; muhuhu eo; musk, black attar; myrrh eo, co2 and abs; nagarmotha eo and co2; nutmeg eo, co2 and abs; oakmoss abs; opoponax eo and abs; orris root eo, co2 and abs; pepper black eo, co2 and abs; peru balsam eo and abs; pine eo's and abs; rose eo's and abs; rosemary eo, co2 and abs; sandalwood eo, co2 and abs; shamama attar; spikenard eo; tonka bean abs; valarian eo and co2; vanilla co2 and abs; vetiver eo, co2 and abs; violet leaf abs; wintergreen eo, ylang eo, co2 and abs

In perfumery is used in incense bouquets, oriental perfumes, fougeres, chypres, precious woods bases, forest accords, amber bases, sacred perfumes, etc

Galanga Root(Kaempferia galanga)/Indonesia organic

Images of Kaempferia galanga


Olfactory Properties of Galangal Root(Kaempferia galanga)/Indonesia organic
The essential oil of Galangal Root distilled from the roots of the Indonesian grown plant should not be confused with the oil essential oil of Galangal Root oil from India which is distilled from the roots of Alpinia officinarium. It is very easy for such confusions to arise if one does not look to the botanical name of the plant for proper identifaction of the aromatic plant being distilled particularly in this case as both oils bear the name Galanga or Galangal oil. Sometimes the oil of Alpinia officinarium roots are called Lesse Galanga or Lesser Glangal.
The Indoensia Kaempferia galanga oil has some very fine olfactory properties which have been little explored in natural perfumery. First of all the physical properties of the oil are unique in that under cool conditions in tends to either crystalize totally or to separate into a clear transparent top layer of oil with the crystalized mass composing the major portion of the essence. It easily melts with gentle heat and can then smoothly be incorporated into perfume compositions with no trouble and it will not then recrystalize.
The essential oil displays a rich, warm, sweet, tangy, balsamic-spicy, slightly camphoraecous aroma with a precious woods undertone with great tenacity and radiance

Blends well with amberi attar; benzoin abs; cananga eo; cedarwood eos; cistus abs and eo; citrus eo's; conifer oils and abs; costus eo, co2 and abs; ambrette seed eo, co2 and abs; cascarilla eo; coriander eo, co2 and abs; elecampgne eo and abs; galbanum eo, co2 and abs; ginger eo, co2 and abs; labdanum eo and abs; laurel leaf eo and abs; lovage herb and root eo and co2; mace eo and co2; mastic eo and abs; myrtle eo; musk, black attar; nigella damascena abs; nutmeg eo, co2 and abs; patchouli eo, co2 and abs;rose absolutes; sandalwood eo, co2 and abs; shammma attar; vetiver eo, co2 and abs

In perfumery it is used in oriental bases, fantasy fragrances ; spice accords, some high class florals, amber bases, chypres, fougeres, incense bouquets


Interesting facts about Kaempferia galanga/Galangal
1. The plant is used as a herb in cooking in Indonesia, and especially in Bali; its Indonesian name is kencur. Its leaves are used in the Malay rice dish, nasi ulam
2.It is one of four plants known as galangal, and is differentiated from the others by the absence of stem and dark brown rounded rhizomes, while the other varieties all have stems and pale rosebrown rhizomes.
3. In Thailand, rhizome is an ingredient for soups and curries.
In Indonesia, used as a spice.
Rhizome is used for cosmetics, making of perfumes and protecting clothes from insects.
4. Rhizomes used as wash for dandruff or head scabs.
Leaves used as perfume in washing hair.


Links for Kaempferia glanga
Uses in Ayurvedic medicine
Uses in Western herbal medicine
Uses in cooking

Sweet Yellow Birch(Betula allegheninsis)/ Upper State New York(wild harvest)

"Beneath you birch with silver bark
And boughs so pendulous and fair,
The brook falls scattered down the rock:
and all is mossy there."
Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Olfactory Properties of Sweet Birch(Betula allegheninsis) essential oil/Upper State New York(wild harvest)
There was a time when the production of Sweet Birch essential oil from several species of Birch growing in the USA was a thriving industry. But today the distillation of genuine birch oil is extremely rare. Methyl salicyclate, its primary ingredient(98%+) can be synthesized very cheaply and oils sold as sweet birch or wintergreen are composed entirely of methly salicyclate.
The distillation of true birch oil is quite labor intensive and few people have the expertise or patience to do it. The oil is distilled from the communiute bark by steam distillation after it has been macerated/digested in lukewarm water for 12 hours.During that process the essential oil is formed by enzymatic hydrolisis of the glucoside gualtherin(which is a natural constituent of the bark)
The colorless or pale yellow oil is one of the densest/heaviest of the essential oils although it is easily pourable at room temperature.
The odor of sweet birch oil is extremely fresh, sweet, penetrating, woody, minty with a delicate creamy undertone. It has a very invigorating, uplifting presence in the atmosphere into which the aroma is diffused. The oil has a fairly even scent profile through all the stages of its aromatic life as described above. The tenacity is outstanding. If one were to smell a genuine sweet birch oil alongside a synthetic methyl salicyclate they would find the aromas quite similar but after careful and concentrated analysis one can easily detect the difference as there is a unique vibrancy and life in the genuine essential oil.

Blends well with anise eo and co2; ajowan eo; artemisia oils; bay leaf eo; basil eo, co2 and abs; bay leaf eo and abs; black currant abs; bois de rose/rosewood eo; benzoin abs; bucchu leaf eo and abs; cajuput eo; camphor eo; cananga eo and abs; caraway seed eo and co2; cardamon eo, co2 and abs; cassia eo and co2; cedar oils and abs; cedarleaf eo; champa attar and absolute; cinnamon bark eo, co2 and abs; cinnamon leaf eo; cistus eo and abs; citrus oils; clove bud eo, co2 and abs; clove leaf eo; coriander eo, co2 and abs; dill eo and co2; eucalyptus oils fennel eo and co2; fenugreek eo, co2 and abs; fir oils and abs; frankincense eo, co2 and abs; galbanum eo, co2 and abs; ho wood and leaf eo; hyssop eo and co2; laurel leaf eo and abs; lavender eo, co2 and abs; lavindin eo and abs; pennyroyal eo; peppermint eo, co2 and abs; mastic eo and abs; marjoram eo and co2; myrtle eo; nutmeg eo, co2 and abs; opoponax eo and abs; pimenta berry eo, co2 and abs; pimenta leaf eo; pine oils and abs; rosemary eo,co2 and abs; spearmint eo and abs; tonka bean abs; spruce oils and abs; styrax eo and abs; tarragon eo and abs; thyme eo, co2 and abs; vanilla abs and co2; yarrow/milfoil eosylang eo and abs

Sweet Birch oil is wonderful in sacred perfumes, apothecary blends, medicinal blends, forest notes, fougeres, incense compositions, spicy bouquets, herbaceous accords, tea blends,etc Trace amounts could be of great value in many other types of compositions including florals especially where the sharper notes are present such as in ruh kewda, champa, cananga. It can also give a warm lift in tuberose, lily, naricussus, and gardenia recreations. It is also an important ingredient in Russian Leather perfumes where along with another essential oil distilled from birch, birch tar oil-it provides a fine aroma


Interesting facts about birch
1. The common name birch is derived from an old Germanic root, birka, with the Proto-Indo-European root *bherəg, "white, bright; to shine."
2. Silver Birch (Betula pendula) is Finland's national tree. Occasionally one uses leafy, fragrant twigs of silver birch to gently beat oneself in a sauna. The twigs are called vihta or vasta. This has a relaxing effect on the muscles.
3. Birch leaves make a diuretic tea and to make extracts for dyes and cosmetic
Many of the First Nations of North America prized the birch for its bark, which due to its light weight, flexibility, and the ease with which it could be stripped from fallen trees, was often used for the construction of strong, waterproof but lightweight canoes, bowls, and wigwams.
4. Birch bark can be soaked until moist in water, and then formed into a cast for a broken arm
5. Long before the arrival of Europeans and even before the development of ceramic vessels 3000 years ago, bark containers were used to collect, store, cook and consume food or other products. Birch bark was also used to make hunting and fishing gear; musical instruments, decorative fans, and even children's sleds and other toys. Birch bark designs were also used in beadwork.
6. The durability and preservative properties of birchbark endowed this material with legendary properties of protection, and earned the bark a place in oral tradition at the center of many Native American myths from the Great Lakes and northern New England regions. These weatherproof properties made birchbark, as well as bark of elm and spruce, the perfect material for Native Americans to use not only for panels to cover houses and to build canoes to travel water, but also to contain and store food and drink.
7.When the huge glaciers of the last ice age receded, birch trees would have been one of the first to re-colonise the rocky, ice-scoured landscape. Hence, in botanical terms the birch is referred to as a pioneer species. Similarly in early Celtic mythology, the birch came to symbolise renewal and purification.



Birch in Literature

Chick's Christmas-trees were decorated, and no house in the whole world had one lovelier that morning than the hundreds that were all about him as far as he could see. The dark-green branches of the pines and cedars had held themselves out like arms waiting to be filled, and the snow had been dropped on them in fluffy masses, by a quiet, windless storm. It had been very soft and lovely that way—a world all white and green below, with a sky of wonderful blue that the firs pointed to like steeples. Then, as if that were not decoration enough, another storm had come, and had put on the glitter that was brightest at the edge of the forest where the sun shone on it. The second storm had covered[Pg 4] the soft white with dazzling ice. It had swept across the white-barked birch trees and their purple-brown branches, and had left them shining all over. It had dripped icicles from the tips of all the twigs that now shone in the sunlight brighter than candles, and tinkled like little bells, when the breezes clicked them together, in a tune that is called, "Woodland Music after an Ice-Storm."
Bird Stories, by Edith M. Patch


From above us, from every side, came the happy songs of little birds calling to one another among the dripping brushwood, while clear from the inmost depths of the wood sounded the voice of the cuckoo. So delicious was the wondrous scent of the wood, the scent which follows a thunderstorm in spring, the scent of birch-trees, violets, mushrooms, and thyme, that I could no longer remain in the britchka. Jumping out, I ran to some bushes, and, regardless of the showers of drops discharged upon me, tore off a few sprigs of thyme, and buried my face in them to smell their glorious scent.
Boyhood, by Leo Tolstoy



"This is a very young birch," continued their governess, "and you see how slender and graceful it is; also that the bark, or 'skin,' is very dark. For this reason it is called the black, or cherry, birch, and also because the tree is very much like the black cherry. It is also called sweet birch and mahogany birch; the sweet part you can probably understand, and it gets its other name from the color of the wood, which often resembles mahogany and at one time was much used for furniture. There are larger trees of the same kind all around us, and I should like to know if anything else has been noticed besides the twigs of this little one."

"I see something," replied Malcolm: "there are flowers--purple and yellow."

"And what is the particular name for these tree-blossoms?" asked Miss Harson.

"Isn't it catkins?" inquired Clara, timidly.

"Yes, catkins, or aments. They hang, as you see, like long tassels of purple and gold, and are as fragrant as the bark. Bryant's line,

"'The fragrant birch above him hung her tassels in the sky,'

"was written of this same black birch. Some of these trees are sixty or seventy feet high, and all are very graceful, this species being considered the most beautiful of the numerous birch family. The leaves, which are just coming out, are two or three inches long and about half as wide; they taper to a point and have serrate, or sawlike, edges. The wood is firm and durable, and is much used for cattle-yokes as well as for bedsteads and chairs. The large trees yield a great quantity of sweetish sap, which makes a pleasant drink. The trees are tapped just as the sugar-maples are, and in some parts of the country gathering this sap, which is sometimes used to make vinegar, is quite an important event."
Among the Trees at Elmridge, by Ella Rodman Church

About each rustic porch the humming-bird
Tried with light bill, that scarce a petal stirred,
The Old World flowers to virgin soil transferred;

And the first-fruits of pear and apple, bending
The young boughs down, their gold and russet blending,
Made glad his heart, familiar odors lending

To the fresh fragrance of the birch and pine,
Life-everlasting, bay, and eglantine,
And all the subtle scents the woods combine.
NARRATIVE AND LEGENDARY POEMS
BY JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER

When the first settlers came to this country, tea and coffee were unknown to them. The favorite drink of that time was a kind of weak beer, which was usually made at home. The first settlers in America could not buy drinks such as they had had in England, and in a new country they often could not make them. So they found out ways of making other drinks in place of them. What we call root beer and birch beer, and a drink flavored with the chips of the hickory tree, were made in New England. Farther south the people made a kind of drink by mixing water and molasses together, and putting in Indian corn.
Stories of American Life and Adventure, by Edward Eggleston

"Ginger ale! Birch beer! Sasp'rilla! Cream sody!" rattled off the
snub-nosed and freckle-faced lad behind the counter, when our four
friends filed in and asked for some cool drink. "That's all I've got."
Tom Fairfield's Pluck and Luck, by Allen Chapman

Rosemary verbenone/Rosmarinus officinalis c.t. verbenone

Olfactory properties of Rosemary verbenone/Rosmarinus officinalis ct verbenone/South Africa(organic)

The essential oil of Rosemary verbenone from South Africa displays a fine, fresh complex citrus-coniferous-herbaceous topnote. As the initial top-notes began to recede a balanced sweet, coniferous-herbaceous bouquet comes into the ascendency into which is woven a delicate, penetrating camphoraceous note. Deeper into the dryout a rich radiant green resinous-herbaceous note appears which has very good tenacity

Blends well with artemisia oils; benzoin abs; bucchu leaf oil and abs; camphor oil; cardamon seed eo, co2 and abs; cedarleaf oils; cedarwood oils; chamomile, wild morocco eo and abs; cinnamon bark eo, co2 and abs; cistus eo and abs; citronella eo; citrus oils; clary sage eo and abs; cypress eo and abs; cubeb eo; currant, black abs; cumin seed eo, co2 and abs; elemi eo and abs; eucalyptus eo and abs; fir eo's; frankincense eo, co2 and abs; galangal root eo and co2; galbanum eo, co2 and abs; hyssop eo and co2; helichrysum eo and abs; juniperberry eo, co2 and abs; labdanum eo and abs; lavindin eo and abs; lavender eo, co2 and abs; lavender, spike eo; mace eo and co2; marjoram eo and co2; muhuhu eo; myrrh eo, co2 and abs; myrtle eo; nutmeg eo, co2 and abs; oregano eo and co2; parsley seed eo and co2; peppermint eo, co2 and abs; petitgrain eo's; pine oils and abs; sage eo and co2; tea, black abs and co2, spruce oils and abs; thyme eo, co2 and abs;

In perfumery is used in literary perfumes, colognes, forest accords, hungary water; incense perfumes, oriental perfumes, fougeres, chypres, amber notes, herbal bouquets

Fenugreek CO2(Trigonella foenum-graceum) select extract

Olfactory Properties of Fenugreek CO2(Trigonella foenum-graceum) extract/ China
The dark yellow fluid co2 extract radiates a warm, sweet, diffusive, spicy powdery bouquet which an underlying "maple syrup/licorice" like note, with courmarinic,balsamic nuances. The sweet, spicy, powdery note lasts for hours into the dry-out phase

In perfumery is used in culinary perfumes, incense compositions, oriental bouquets, chypres, fougeres, new mown hay accords

Interesting facts about Fenugreek
1. In India, fenugreek seeds are mixed with yogurt and used as a conditioner for hair.
2. In Egypt, fenugreek seeds are prepared as tea, by being boiled then sweetened.
3. In the United States, where maple syrup is popular but expensive, fenugreek is widely used in lower-cost syrup products as a maple syrup flavoring such as Mapleine.
4. The Latin species name foenum graecum means "Greek hay", referring to both the intensive hay fragrance of dried fenugreek herb and its Eastern Mediterranean origin.
5. Iran has a particularly rich tradition in cooking with fenugreek leaves; among the most famous examples is ghorme sabzi [قرمه سبزی], a thick sauce made from fresh or dried vegetables (leek, onion, occasionally beans) and herbs (fenugreek, parsley, mint; some recipes also call for chives and coriander leaves). The sauce acquires a characteristic acidic flavour by addition of dried limes
6. The major use of fenugreek is in curry powders, figuring in many mixtures, especially vindaloo and the hot curries of Sri Lanka. It is an ingredient of Panch phoron, the Indian five-spice mixture. In home-made powders, the amount used can be controlled, but in cheap bought powders it often overpowers.


Links to articles on Fenugreek
Wikipedia article on Fenugreek
Mongraph on Fenugreek
Fenugreek as a spice
Fenugreek in cooking and medicine
Fenugreek in History
Chemistry of Fenugreek

Rosa bourboniana \Edward Rose Absolute

Olfactory Properties of Edward Rose/Rosa bourboniana absolute/South India
Edward Rose or Rosa bourboniana is grown extensively in India particularly at the base of of the Palani Hills, west of Madurai in the State of Tamil Nadu and in Rajasthan near Ajmer. In South India it is grown primarily from the fresh garland market and in Rajasthan for making rose water and gulkand(a type of rose-petal jam) In Rajasthan a small amount of the crop goes for making traditonal attar and essential oil and in Tamil Nadu for extracting the concrete/absolute.

The absolute of Rosa bourboniana reveals a unique sweet-heavy, honeyed, green mossy, ambery, roseaceous bouquet. The sweet, roseaceous, honeyed note comes to the forefront as the dry-out phase commences becoming more delicate and sublime with the passage of the hours. Tenacity and strength of the absolute is very good.

Blends well with a great variety of materials-benzoin abs; agarwood eo and attar; aglaia odorata abs; ambrette eo, co2 and abs; amyris eo; araucaria eo; boronia abs; broom abs; cabreuva eo; carnation abs; cassie abs; cedarwood oils; champaca attar and abs; cistus eo and abs; coriander eo and co2; fir balsam abs; frangipani abs; frankincense eo, co2 and abs; guiacwood eo; gurjun balsam eo; helichrysum eo and abs; hay abs; howood eo; jasmin absolutes; kewda ruh and attar; labdanum eo and abs; lemonbalm eo, abs and co2; magnolia lily co2; mandarin petigrain oil; mimosa abs; muhuhu eo; night queen abs; orris eo, co2 and abs; orangeflower abs; osmanthus abs; palmarosa eo; patchouli eo, co2 and abs; rose abs and eo's; rose leaf abs; rosewood eo; saffron attar and co2; sandalwood eo, co2 and abs; siamwood eo; tagetes eo and abs; tonka bean abs; tuberose abs; verbena eo and abs; vetiver eo, co2 and abs; ylang eo, co2 and abs;

In perfumery Rosa bourboniana this lovely absolute can be used in rose bases, garland perfumes, sacred essences, high class perfumes, new mown hay compositions, incense creations, chypres, fougueres, oriental perfumes