Orris root (Rhizoma iridis) is the root of Iris germanica and Iris pallida . It had the common name of Queen Elizabeth Root. [1] It is commonly used as a fixative and base note in perfumery and as a botanical in gin.
Orris root (Rhizoma iridis) is the root of Iris germanica and Iris pallida . It had the common name of Queen Elizabeth Root. [1] It is commonly used as a fixative and base note in perfumery and as a botanical in gin.
The most valued component of orris root is oil of orris (0.1–0.2%), a yellow-white mass containing myristic acid. Oil of orris is sometimes sold as orris butter.
Other components include fat, resin, starch, mucilage, bitter extractive, and a glucoside called iridin or irisin. [2]
Once important in western herbal medicine, it is now used mainly as a fixative and base note in perfumery; it is the most widely used fixative for potpourri. [3] Orris is also an ingredient in many brands of gin, [4] including Bombay Sapphire. [5]
Fabienne Pavia, in her book L'univers des Parfums (1995, ed. Solar), states that in the manufacturing of perfumes using orris, the scent of the iris root differs from that of the flower. After preparation the scent is reminiscent of the smell of violets. [3]
In Japan, the roots and leaves of the plant were hung in the eaves of a house to protect the house and occupants from attacks by evil spirits. Other magic uses include using it as a love potion, with the root powder in sachets, or sprinkled around the house or sheets of a bedroom. [1]
After an initial drying period, which can take five years or more depending on the use (for potpourri only two to three months [3] ), the root is ground. For potpourri, this powder is used without further processing. For other uses, it is dissolved in water and then distilled. It achieves a highly scented, yellow-brown crystalline form. [6] One ton of iris root produces two kilos of essential oil, also referred to as orris root butter or butter of iris, and it is the most expensive substance used in the fragrance industry. [7] Its fragrance has been described as tenaciously flowery, heavy and woody (paraphrasing Pavia, Dutch translation, page 40). It is similar to violets. [6]
Typical iris perfumes (where orris prevails over the other components) include "Orris Noir" by the London-based perfume house Ormonde Jayne Perfumery, [8] "Infusion d'iris" (Prada), "N°15" by Auphorie, [9] "Iris Silver Mist" (Serge Lutens), "Tumulte" (Christian Lacroix), "Aqua di Parma" and "Iris nobile" (Aqua di Parma), "Irisia" (Creed), "Y" (Yves Saint Laurent), "Vol de nuit" (Guerlain), and "Fantasy The Naughty Remix" (Britney Spears). "Orris Noir" contains regular orris root oil, not the oil of Iris nigricans , which is an endangered species.
Orris root is often included as one of the many ingredients of ras el hanout, a blend of herbs and spices used across the Middle East and North Africa, primarily associated with Moroccan cuisine.
Orris root has been used in tinctures to flavour syrups; its taste is said to be indistinguishable from raspberry. [10]
Orris root powder also had a use as the base in the making of nonpareils. [11]
Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Perfumes can be defined as substances that emit and diffuse a pleasant and fragrant odor. They consist of manmade mixtures of aromatic chemicals and essential oils. The 1939 Nobel Laureate for Chemistry, Leopold Ružička stated in 1945 that "right from the earliest days of scientific chemistry up to the present time, perfumes have substantially contributed to the development of organic chemistry as regards methods, systematic classification, and theory."
Patchouli is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, commonly called the mint or deadnettle family. The plant grows as a bushy perennial herb, with erect stems reaching up to 75 centimetres (2.5 ft) in height and bearing small, pale pink-white flowers.
Viola odorata is a species of flowering plant in the family Violaceae, native to Europe and Asia. This small hardy herbaceous perennial is commonly known as wood violet, sweet violet, English violet, common violet, florist's violet, or garden violet. It has been introduced into the Americas and Australia.
Chrysopogon zizanioides, commonly known as vetiver and khus, is a perennial bunchgrass of the family Poaceae.
Potpourri is a mixture of dried, naturally fragrant plant materials used to provide a gentle natural scent, commonly in residential settings. It is often placed in a decorative bowl.
Benzoin or benjamin is a balsamic resin obtained from the bark of several species of trees in the genus Styrax. It is used in perfumes and some kinds of incense and as a flavoring and medicine. It is distinct from the chemical compound benzoin, which is ultimately derived chemically from benzoin resin; the primary active ingredient of benzoin resin is actually benzoic acid not benzoin.
A pomander, from French pomme d'ambre, i.e., apple of amber, is a ball made for perfumes, such as ambergris, musk, or civet. The pomander was worn or carried in a case as a protection against infection in times of pestilence or merely as a useful article to modify bad smells. The globular cases which contained the pomanders were hung from a neck-chain or belt, or attached to the girdle, and were usually perforated in a variety of openwork techniques, and made of gold or silver. Sometimes they contained several partitions, in each of which was placed a different perfume.
Galbanum is an aromatic gum resin and a product of certain umbelliferous Persian plant species in the genus Ferula, chiefly Ferula gummosa and Ferula rubricaulis. Galbanum-yielding plants grow plentifully on the slopes of the mountain ranges of northern Iran. It occurs usually in hard or soft, irregular, more or less translucent and shining lumps, or occasionally in separate tears, of a light-brown, yellowish or greenish-yellow colour. Galbanum has a disagreeable, bitter taste, a peculiar, a somewhat musky odour, and an intense green scent. With a specific gravity of 1.212, it contains about 8% terpenes; about 65% of a resin which contains sulfur; about 20% gum; and a very small quantity of the colorless crystalline substance umbelliferone. It also contains α-pinene, β-pinene, limonene, cadinene, 3-carene, and ocimene.
Tolu balsam or balsam of Tolu is a balsam that originates from South America. It is similar to the balsam of Peru.
Orris oil is an essential oil derived from irises, particularly Iris germanica. It is sometimes used as a flavoring agent and as an ingredient in perfume production. It can also have uses in body lotions.
Jasminum grandiflorum, also known variously as the Spanish jasmine, Royal jasmine, Catalan jasmine, Sicilian jasmine, is a species of jasmine native to South Asia, the Arabian peninsula, East and Northeast Africa and the Yunnan and Sichuan regions of China. The species is widely cultivated and is reportedly naturalized in Guinea, the Maldive Islands, Mauritius, Réunion, Java, the Cook Islands, Chiapas, Central America, and the Caribbean.It is closely related to, and sometimes treated as merely a form of, Jasminum officinale. The plant is known as "saman pichcha" or "pichcha" in Sri Lanka.
Irones are a group of methylionone odorants used in perfumery, derived from iris oil, e.g. orris root. The most commercially important of these are:
Eau de toilette is a lightly scented perfume. It is also referred to as aromatic waters and has a high alcohol content. It is usually applied directly to the skin after bathing or shaving. It is traditionally composed of alcohol and various volatile oils. Traditionally these products were named after a principal ingredient; some being geranium water, lavender water, lilac water, violet water, spirit of myrcia and 'eau de Bretfeld'. Because of this, eau de toilette was sometimes referred to as "toilet water".
Jean-François Houbigant was a French perfumer who founded the second oldest perfumery in France. He established a modest shop in 1775 at 57 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré. He chose a basket of flowers to identify the front of his shop and that emblem will remain the symbol of Houbigant through the years.
Benzyl salicylate is a salicylic acid benzyl ester, a chemical compound most frequently used in cosmetics as a fragrance additive or UV light absorber. It appears as an almost colorless liquid with a mild odor described as "very faint, sweet-floral, slightly balsamic" by some, while others smell nothing at all. There is debate whether the odour is caused solely by impurities or a genetic predisposition. It occurs naturally in a variety of plants and plant extracts and is widely used in blends of fragrance materials.
Gardenia taitensis, also called Tahitian gardenia or tiaré flower, is a species of plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is an evergreen tropical shrub that grows to 4 m (10 ft) tall and has glossy dark green leaves that are 5–16 cm (2–6 in) long and are oppositely arranged along the stem. The flower is creamy white and pinwheel-shaped with 5–9 lobes, each 2–4 cm (0.8–2 in) long and fragrant. Native to the highland shores of the South Pacific, it has the distinction of being one of the few cultivated plants native to Polynesia. It is the national flower of French Polynesia and the Cook Islands.
Opopanax is the commercial name of bisabol or bissabol, the fragrant oleo-gum-resin of Commiphora guidottii. It has been a major export article from Somalia since ancient times, and is called hebbakhade, habaghadi or habak hadi in Somali. It is an important ingredient in perfumery and therefore known as scented myrrh, sweet myrrh, perfumed myrrh or perfumed bdellium.
The identity of the plant first described by Carl Linnaeus as Iris florentina remains unclear, as of December 2021. In horticulture, it has been treated as a white-flowered variant of Iris × germanica, under names such as Iris germanica nothovar. florentina, Iris × germanica var. florentina and Iris × germanica 'Florentina'. Iris florentina has also been treated as the correct name for the true species also known as Iris albicansLange.
Ormonde Jayne is a London-based niche perfume house founded by Linda Pilkington in 2000. Begun as a line of scented candles, the house now makes perfumes as well. The perfumes are created by Pilkington and Geza Schoen.