The other day when I went in the greenhouse to get some
plants for an order, I found Maxillaria densa in full bloom. It’s one of those
weed-like epiphytic orchids that one would hardly notice when it’s not in
bloom, and when it is in bloom, the main attraction is the fragrance, not the
appearance of the flowers. It’s originally native to Central America and parts
of South America, where it reportedly grows in pine forests. The flowers are
small and white, with touches of pink on the lips. They emerge as a dense
cluster from the side of a pseudobulb, where they barely peek up above the
surrounding sheath like a huge bouquet in a florist’s paper wrapping cone. The
flowers always look droopy, like they’re not quite open.
So much for the flowers. The fragrance, on the other hand is
one of the most spectacular in the whole realm of orchid scents, for all the
world like a fine vintage perfume. It’s rich and strongly floral, spiced with
cinnamon; it’s powdery, musky, and woody. If you were to smell the fragrance
without knowing its origin, you would probably say that it’s a really good
Guerlain. Really. It’s gorgeous - one of the best orchid scents around. It
doesn’t smell like a flower, it smells like a perfume.
Two days ago I was sniffing my tiny sample of Guerlain
Djedi, and find that the Maxillaria densa fragrance is surprisingly similar. Just
when you think you’ve smelled it all, some orchid will come up with a complete
surprise. Maxillaria densa blooms like clockwork several times a year, so I
look forward to many sniffs of this fantastic fragrance.
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Makes you wonder if the Guerlain patriarchs took some original inspiration from orchids...did any of them grow orchids??
ReplyDeleteMarla, I wonder the same thing, but I think it's probably just coincidence because I also have an orchid that smells just like a Chanel fragrance. If I had to guess, I'd say that maybe some people in the perfume industry did grow orchids, but I imagine they were Cattleyas or some other common, showy kind, not the little weedy ones with the extraordinary fragrances.
ReplyDeleteI know Bertrand Duchaufour raises orchids, but not sure how many are the fragrant varieties. I'll bet there are others, and I'm sure quite a few grow roses and peonies and jasmine and so on! I'm pretty sure J-C Ellena grows jasmine of various sorts. Fascination with smelly plants and perfumes pretty much go hand in hand (or hand and nose).
DeleteLIttle orchid crazy here but this blog has inspired me to go out and Get M. Densa.
ReplyDeleteThank you So much for your writing -- its exciting to me to find people who find fragrance as essential as I do.
I'm glad you found this blog. I hope to write about more orchid fragrances as new ones bloom. Here's to a happy, fragrance-filled new year!
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