Is Azolla (Water Fern) natural or synthetic?

A fantasy or concept note, not a single material.

Azolla (Water Fern)

AccordGREENS, HERBS & FOUGERESfresh · green · aquatic

HeartPyramid

3/5Strength

—Tenacity

1Origins

Editorial noteWe own no rights to this material, its name or its trademark. This entry is independent editorial journalism, published under freedom of expression.

Specimen

Azolla (Water Fern) perfume ingredient — Heart

Azolla spp.

Fantasy/Concept

Definition

Pond water left standing in a clay bowl. Green, mineral, faintly sour — the smell of standing freshwater where algae films over the surface.

GREEN AQUATIC EARTHY VEGETAL DAMP

WATER FERN MOSQUITO FERN DUCKWEED FERN

Type: Accord
Olfactive family: Green
Subfamily: Aquatic greens
Cluster: Damp vegetal greens
Source: N/A — no commercial extraction
Chemical class: Synthetic reconstruction (fantasy accord)

Instruments

Pyramid

TTop

HHeart

BBase

3/5Strength

Medium

odour strength

Producing countries

Tropical and subtropical regions worldwide (Asia, Africa, Americas)

Scent

Damp, vegetal green sitting over a mineral-mud foundation. Less sharp than cut stems, less sweet than water lily. Closer in character to the inside of a greenhouse — humid air, wet soil, chlorophyll.

In PREMIEREPEAU

DISCOVERY SET7 × 2 ml →EXTRAIT DE PARFUMThe seven extraits →

The Full Story

Azolla is not a perfumery raw material in any traditional sense. No essential oil, no absolute, no CO2 extract exists commercially. It belongs to the category of fantasy notes — olfactory impressions reconstructed from synthetic building blocks to carries a specific environment.

The scent concept is aquatic-green with a mineral edge. Think stagnant pond rather than rushing stream: there is a warmth to it, a vegetal density that separates it from cleaner aquatic notes like calone or marine accords. The greenness is closer to crushed duckweed than to cut grass.

In practice, perfumers building an azolla-type accord might layer cis-3-hexenol (fresh leaf green) with dihydromyrcenol (metallic-aquatic) and a trace of geosmin (petrichor, wet earth). The result reads as swampy, humid, alive — useful in compositions that aim for tropical realism rather than abstract freshness.

No PREMIEREPEAU fragrance currently features this note.

Did You Know?

Azolla pinnata can double its biomass in 48 hours under optimal conditions, making it one of the fastest-growing plants on Earth. During the Eocene epoch (~49 million years ago), massive Azolla blooms in the Arctic Ocean are believed to have drawn down atmospheric CO2 enough to trigger global cooling — an event paleoclimatologists call the Azolla Event.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method

No commercial extraction exists. Azolla is a conceptual note reconstructed entirely from synthetic materials.

Formula: N/A - natural plant material
CAS: N/A - natural aquatic plant
Botanical: Azolla spp.
Appearance: Small free-floating aquatic fern with green to reddish fronds, 1-2 cm wide
Odour strength: Medium
Synonyms: WATER FERN MOSQUITO FERN DUCKWEED FERN

IFRA status

See note

Not applicable: accord or concept, not a single material

Physical properties

Note: Azolla spp. — aquatic fern used as olfactory inspiration; no commercial essential oil produced

In Perfumery

Fantasy/concept note. Functions as an environmental modifier in compositions seeking humid, tropical, or aquatic-green textures. Not a standalone material but an accord typically built from cis-3-hexenol, dihydromyrcenol, and earthy molecules like geosmin. Useful in niche compositions exploring wetland or jungle atmospheres. Falls within the broader green-aquatic family.

Role in the formula

01modifier

02signature note

03lifting agent

04blender

05naturalizer

06volume builder

Available as

synthetic accord fantasy note