The Mystique of Orchids: An Exotic Perfume
May 1st, 2007
By Donna Hathaway
The Orchid family is the largest of all plant families on Earth, yet they still have an air of intrigue about them, even in a time when they can be bought at supermarkets for a fraction of what they would have cost only a few years ago. They live on every continent except Antarctica, and in habitats from steamy jungles to cool forest highlands. Their fantastic shapes and colors draw their admirers into an ever-deepening web of addiction and acquisition. A collector can spend a lifetime concentrating on just one genus or hybrid group; there are so many thousands of them out there that no one could ever have them all.
Of course, the ones that intrigue me most are the fragrant ones, and that is one of the most mysterious things about them. Since they are so diverse, so widespread, and so varying in size and shape, they have many different pollinators in nature, which means that they have developed multiple strategies to attract them. Some mimic the appearance of a female insect in order to entice the males, while others rely on bright colors. Many of them use scent as their lure, and among this group, many are only fragrant when their pollinators are active, whether it be day or night, cool or warm, so humans can have a hard time catching them at the right time to experience their scents, which are amazingly diverse. Some are just plain weird and not pleasant to our noses, while others are so delicious as to be unforgettable.
I recently attended an orchid show, with hundreds of species and hybrids on display, from impossibly tiny flowers that need a10x magnifier to be seen clearly, to monstrously large jungle orchids with cascades of palm-size blossoms. I took some notes on fragrance for my own future reference, as I keep a few at home as space allows, but I also wanted to share my impressions as an indication of what is available in the way of fragrance in the orchid world. Here are a just a few of the many possibilities of scent that I discovered.
The familiar Cattleya orchids are the ruffled corsage orchids, and they often have a lovely freesia or cyclamen-like fragrance. When crossed with Laelia orchids you get Laeliocattleyas, which is where I stop being able to pronounce things. These generally have somewhat smaller flowers, but also lovely perfumes. I found one that smelled like the most fragrant Hosta flowers, very delicate and lily-like, but with a distinct “jungly” note beneath the sweetness; like a breath of tropical forest floor.
A species called Encyclia chacoensis with small, delicate blossoms of intricately carved and patterned green and white stunned me with its whopping dose of heavy, sensuous vanilla and Oriental spice aroma. Another species, the pastel pink and white Siderea japonica, smelled of freesia and latex. And a particular favorite of mine, Zygopetalum mackayi, replicates the strong scent of hyacinth with amazing accuracy. Others are redolent of vanilla (of course!), magnolia, sugared violets, banana, jasmine, or lemon. Then there are the oddballs – a hybrid called “Black Gold’ smelled exactly like lilacs and bacon! Another, a species called Coelogyne pandurata, took me back to my childhood in one whiff with the strong smell of fresh goat’s milk. No, I am not making this up!
This brings me to my all-time favorite, an Oncidium hybrid called ‘Sharry Baby,’ possibly the most famous orchid of all due to its incredibly strong aroma of vanilla and chocolate – it’s a candy bar on a stem, and it’s delicious. Fortunately it is easy to grow, and my own plant is just about to bloom. Not too long ago I discovered a perfume at my local boutique that I fell in love with and bought on the spot. Upon bringing it home I looked it up and found that it has ‘Sharry Baby’ in it, along with two kinds of Cattleya orchids. No wonder I fell for it! The perfume is Lucien Lelong Pour Femme, introduced in 1999, but it smells like a vintage glamour perfume from the glory days of haute parfumerie, along the same lines as Parfums d’Orsay’s Intoxication in that it’s a fragrance for grown-up women, not ingénues, and it is heady and long lasting. It also has notes of lilac, magnolia, Kadota fig, rose de mai, ylang ylang, jasmine, tuberose, iris, sandalwood, sandalwood, vetiver, oakmoss and musk.
Now, I adore lilac and magnolia and fig and everything else that’s in this stuff, so it’s right up my alley. The fig in this is not the green leaves and sap, oh no, it is the honeyed, syrupy fruit, golden and dripping with juice. The orchid plays the role that vanilla has in other perfumes, but the particular genius of this one is that the normal vanilla orchid is not the source, so it has an extra dimension from the delectable chocolate notes in the ‘Sharry Baby.’ You can read more at their web site, www.lucienlelong.com which also seems to be one of the very few outlets for purchasing it, as well as the famous and fabulous Indiscret, another favorite of mine. (A side note: Lucien Lelong has re-released some of their other classic fragrances of days gone by. All Lelong perfumes of the past were formulated by the great perfumer Jean Carles, but I have been unable to determine who is responsible for Lelong Pour Femme. I asked them, but all I got in return was an e-mail form letter. If anyone knows this, do tell!)
Image source: Oncidium orchid “Sharry Baby Sweet Fragrance” from Ironwood Estate Orchids
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13 Comments
1. Solander | May 2nd, 2007 at 5:01 am
A fascinating read, I’d like to smell all those orchids…
And as a feminist scholar, I just can’t get over that your name is almost Donna Haraway!
2. March | May 2nd, 2007 at 6:08 am
I have never tried those Lelongs! They sound wonderful. There’s an annual orchid show here at the arboretum (D.C.) and they have intense security — people steal them
I had no idea some of them were so valuable.
3. Elle | May 2nd, 2007 at 6:27 am
I have carefully avoided falling down the orchid obsession rabbit hole, but your post today puts me much closer to the brink. The Lelong Pour Femme sounds fab! And will have to go resniff my Intoxication sample this morning.
4. newproducts | May 2nd, 2007 at 6:54 am
Wow, Lelong Pour Femme sounds like it would verge on the gourmand category, what with the chocolate and vanilla from the Sharry Baby. Thank you for this informative article on orchids. Now, I want to go out and smell them myself!
5. Marina | May 2nd, 2007 at 7:48 am
Fascinating! I read you article with such pleasure, thank you! I’d love to smell the lilacs-and-bacon orchid
Have you heard of Shiseido’s perfume series, Message from Orchids? Every year they release a perfume devoted to a particular kind of orchid. The one I used to own was Cattleya, it was truly ambrosial. Of course, as with all the best things from Shiseido, these are not available in the States. In fact, they are only sold in Japan. Arrgh.
6. violetnoir | May 2nd, 2007 at 4:04 pm
This Lelong fragrance sounds simply amazing! I may have to try it.
I had no idea that there were so many thousands of different orchids. Thank you, Donna, for your informative post!
Hugs!
7. Ferdie | May 2nd, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Such exquisite knowledge of all things fragrance; heady stuff! And thank you for the lead on “Casaque,” from the mid-60′s. I thought it was long gone!.
8. Flora | May 2nd, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Solander, I did not even know who that was so I looked her up – fascinating!
March, you should read “*The Orchid Thief” by Susan Orlean – these people are truly obsessed! Almost as bad as perfumistas!
Elle, just be careful….
newproducts, it does not really smell gourmand, just very “rounded” and rich. The florals are quite prominent, as are the basenotes later on. It smells like wealth, really. Not a bad thing.
Thank you Marina, and I must say that I was quite shocked by the lilacs-and-bacon flower. Two of my favorite smells, but never together, LOL. I had heard of the Shiseido perfume a long time ago, but I thought it was just one fragrance. Now I am obsessed!
violetnoir, hugs back, I am so glad you enjoyed it. I really love that perfume – I was always a big fan of Indiscret, and for many years I thought it was he only fragrance the house of Lelong ever did – it was primarily a fashion house after all, with simply divine clothes too. After I found the Pour Femme I found their web site and discovered the reissues. I may have to scout around for samples of those, or maybe the place where I bought mine will carry them someday. If any of them approach the quality of Indiscret I am in big trouble, as they were all originally by the same perfumer.
Ferdie, glad to help! And let me know if there are any other fragrant things you are looking for – I will be happy to lead you astray.
Thanks everyone for commenting!
9. Ina | May 2nd, 2007 at 10:00 pm
Donna, what a fascinating piece! I know close to nothing about flowers, and you make orchids sound so irresistible with such a variety of smells! I must find a way to smell them. Oh, and Lelong is a new territory for me as well. Thank you, Donna!
10. Abigail | May 4th, 2007 at 7:17 am
Thank you for this post! I have been craving more of an orchid fragrance! I have a very modest collection of orchids (only about 40). And I hear you on needing space – that’s why I love miniatures so much!
11. Hilda Rosa | May 6th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
The vanilla orchid flower itself doesn’t smell like what we would know as vanilla. It is the pod that smells like vanilla after it has been cured and dried and fermented.
Is the smell of the Lelong perfume “Sharry Baby” recreated in the lab since no orchid yields up its smell naturally.
I grow many types of orchids and my favourite scent is the spice and chocolate scent that many Cattleyas have.
There are some orchids that have a rotting flesh kind of smell to attract carniverous insects.
Orchids are as addictive as perfumes!
12. Flora | May 9th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
Hilda Rosa, yes, there are many orchids that actually do have the vanilla scent. I have a miniature white Oncidium that is just purely vanilla and quite strong at that. I imagine that the same chemical (vanillin) that makes the seed pods fragrant is present in small amounts in the flowers of some orchids, since not all are fragrant, or if they are, they do not all smell of vanilla. (Vanilla is actually the name of the genus of vining orchids that produces the pods, and there are several species of it.)
I have no idea how they recreate the fragance of ‘Sharry Baby’ for that perfume, but it certainly smells like the real thing. Perhaps they have used “headspace” technology for this.
I must agree that they are addictive – if I had a heated greenhouse, I would have many more than I do now!
13. Perfume Review: LeLong Po&hellip | March 6th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
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