Geranium

Group: Flowers

Geranium is a genus of more than 400 flowering plants that are commonly known as cranesbills. These lovely flowers grow in all temperate regions of the world, but mostly in the eastern Mediterranean region. Most of the geraniums are prized for their beautiful flowers, but many of them are appreciated especially for their aromatic scents. Some of the fragrant geraniums are orange, apple, rose and mint-scented geranium. The colors of their blooms may vary from red, pink, magenta, and violet, to purple, but white colored and salmon flowers are the most common.

Geranium, or Pelargonium graveolens, is native to South Africa, having been introduced into Europe around 1690. The species name graveolens is derived from Latin language and means strong-smelling. The English name cranesbill refers to the physical feature of some of the Geranium species that have flower stem's craning neck or black seed-heads resembling a crane's bill.

This flower is mainly cultivated at the Reunion and Madagascar islands, in Egypt and China. China and Madagascar are especially important as they grow Bourbon type germaniums from which the most valuable Bourbon essential oil is derived. This oil is characterized by its green rich and long lasting fruity-mint odor with a subtle touch of a rose.

According to an old Muslim legend, the geranium first grew when the Prophet Mohammed hung his shirt on a plant to dry in the sun. When he came to pick it up again, he found it covered with brightly colored fragrant flowers. Since antiquity, flower symbolism has been a significant part of all cultures. The color of the bloom of geranium determines the symbolical and even magical attributes of these plants. People of New England believed that snakes would not go near those places where wild geraniums grow. Similarly, if the blossom points downward, the flower is warning that you are stuck in the past and that constant reminiscing is stealing your future. Pink flowers of geranium are used in love spells, while red geraniums usually grow in a pot near a witch’s cottage.

Geranium continues to cast its magic for centuries, being one of the most important raw materials in perfumery. Geranium oil, obtained by steam distillation of the leaves, has wide applications - from body care products to high-end perfumes. Depending on the cultivation area where the plant is grown, geranium oil can have many different properties. Reunion or Bourbon, Algerian, Moroccan, and French are the most prized types of geranium oil, but their individual olflactory properties widely vary. The most appreciated of them, Bourbon oil, is characterized by its green rich and long lasting fruity-mint odor with a heady scent of a rose. French types, on the other hand, are more floral and have the most refined rosy smell.

The concrete and absolute of geranium are also available and commonly used in different types of colognes, fougeres, herbal and floral fragrances, as well as in chypres-type compositions. Geranium absolute is obtained by distillation of the aerial parts of the plant. It appears as an olive to green colored liquid with sharp and herbaceous green odor and sweet minty-rose undertones.

Geranium essential oil possesses many of the same properties as rose essential oil. Moreover, geranium is often confused with rose essential oil, and often used for its rose-like properties since it can be obtained for a far lesser price.

Geranium appears in Yardley’s monothematic Heritage Collection, which is designed to highlight modern notes of fragrances inspired by English flowers. Similarly, Demeter Fragrance interprets Geranium in the Vintage Naturals 2009 limited edition. Demeter Fragrance opens with top notes of lavender and brings floral bouquet of geranium in the core, laid on the woody base of patchouli and cedar.

You can also feel it in a beautiful rosy floral fragrance for women Geranium Bourbon by Miller Harris, and in a fresh and spicy men’s fragrance Geranium Pour Monsieur by Frederic Malle, which revolves around the theme of geranium. This fragrance is born right out of the author’s fascination with the essence of this flower, discovered by pure chance while he was working on soap Anterenea.

To discover more amazing fragrances with garanium note, please use our search by notes.