What is the Perfume Project?

This blog is a constantly evolving forum for thoughts on perfume, perfume-making, plants (especially orchids and flora of the Pacific Northwest) and life in general. It started out chronicling the adventures of Olympic Orchids Perfumes, established in July 2010, and has expanded in other directions. A big part of the blog is thinking about the ongoing process of learning and experimentation that leads to new perfumes, the exploration of perfumery materials, the theory and practice of perfume making, the challenges of marketing perfumes and other fragrance products, and random observations on philosophy and society. Spam comments will be marked as such and deleted; any comments that go beyond the boundaries of civil discourse will also be deleted. I am grateful to all of you, the readers, who contribute to the blog by commenting and making this a truly interactive perfume project.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

THE BIG WHITE TROPICAL: AERANGIS DISTINCTA


It’s still cold outside, but the plants and the birds don’t seem to notice. This is the season when my orchids go full steam ahead into growth and spring blooming. One that’s blooming right now is Aerangis distincta, a Central African species. The plant itself is fairly small, and was happily growing in my greenhouse until someone (a walk-in customer, I think) bumped against it and knocked off most of its flower spike. Just one bud was left, but it’s blooming now, wafting out its fragrance as soon as it gets dark.

The flower is creamy-white tinged with orange. I think it must have gone all-out to make up for its missing companions, because it’s huge. The nectar spur is over 8 inches long! Seen in profile, the flower has sort of a streamlined, almost art-deco shape reminiscent of an airplane propeller, or a rocket nose-cone with the nectar spur shooting out after it in a perfect arc. The fragrance is the quintessential tropical white flower scent, like a mix of indolic jasmine, gardenia, ylang-ylang, orange blossom, and tuberose, with mega-sillage. It’s gorgeous. It reminds me of the tropical perfume that I’ve been working on. Over the weeks that the flower blooms, the fragrance changes a little, going from all-out indolic white tropical flowers to white flowers accompanied by lots of spice and aromatic woody notes. I’m always struck by the basic similarity of all night-fragrant white flowers, whether orchids or very different types. 



Another plant that’s blooming right now, in addition to the usual cattleyas and big blue vandas, is Maxillaria juergensii. It’s a tiny orchid species with spiky leaves that produces huge flowers for the size of the plant. The flowers are dark red, with a super-shiny, wet-looking lip. They smell like dead meat. You win some, you lose some. I’m sure the flies like the fragrance, but I don’t think it’s going to end up as a perfume. 


6 comments:

  1. I haven't had the pleasure of smelling Aerangis distincta but it sounds like the perfect perfume for me! I love tropical floral scents. I am familiar with biloba and especially remember the "gardenia" aspect of those flowers. I am really looking forward to testing your new tropical perfume.

    I hate using the word "awesome" but that nectar spur must be awesome!
    Who (in nature) pollinates THAT!

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    1. Gail, the tropical perfume is coming in the testers' packs, as soon as I can get them ready. The Aerangis nectar spur is indeed awesome! I believe it's pollinated by a species of sphinx moth with a very long tongue.

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  2. YUMMY White flowers blooming at night.
    One day I will come and visit your Orchids, Perfumery and you.
    Portia xx

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    1. Portia, Yes! Please come to Seattle and visit! It would be AH-MAY-ZING to finally meet you. Some yummy white flowers will eventually be coming your way.

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  3. That is one beautiful flower! The little red one is cute, too, despite its stinkiness. It's interesting how some plants aim for insects that want sugar, and others aim for the decomp-loving buggles.

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    1. Marla, I just pollinated the little red one. We'll see what happens. It looks like all of my orchids are going to bloom while I'm out of town (isn't it always that way?), and will probably be finished before the next show in April.

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