Home › Glossary › Clematis

Clematis

Q: Is Clematis natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: No commercial essential oil or absolute of clematis exists. The note is an entirely synthetic fantasy accord..

FLOWERS / floral · green · sweet

Clematis

Category	FLOWERS
Subcategory	floral · green · sweet
Origin
Volatility	Heart Note
Botanical	Clematis spp.
Appearance	Flowering climbing vine; no essential oil — used as olfactory concept
Odor Strength	Medium
Producing Countries	Asia, Europe, North America
Pyramid	Heart

Green, faintly almond-bitter, with barely any floral sweetness. Clematis smells like the vine itself -- sap, crushed leaf, and a trace of something almost peppery.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Green, vine-like, faintly bitter-almond, with minimal floral sweetness. More stem-and-leaf than petal. The impression is of a climbing plant on a trellis -- green sap, twisted vine, and the barely-there suggestion of a flower. Not a floral soliflore but a botanical portrait.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Green vine-snap, faint bitter-almond, fresh

After a few hours

Soft green-musky warmth, quiet, vine-like

After a few days

Near-transparent green-clean trace

The Full Story

Clematis is a large genus of climbing plants (Ranunculaceae family) with over 300 species. Most clematis flowers carry minimal fragrance -- the exceptions being a few species like C. armandii (almond-scented) and C. montana (vanilla-like). The generic 'clematis' note in perfumery is a fantasy based more on the plant's visual character than any specific scent.

The accord typically captures a green, mildly bitter-almond, vine-like impression: the smell of the plant rather than the flower. Construction uses green-leaf aldehydes (for the vegetal-vine quality), a trace of benzaldehyde (for the almond note found in some species), clean musks (for softness), and a faint white-floral element.

Functionally, clematis works as a green, vine-like modifier in the heart zone. It provides a climbing-plant, garden-trellis reference. The note works in green, garden-themed, and English-countryside compositions.

This note in Première Peau. Nuit Elastique · Rose Monotone. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

—

Did You Know?

Did you know?

Clematis belongs to the Ranunculaceae (buttercup family), which includes some of the most toxic plants in the temperate world (aconite, hellebore). Fresh clematis sap contains protoanemonin, a compound that causes painful blistering on skin contact -- the plant that looks so gentle on a cottage trellis is, technically, caustic.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: No commercial essential oil or absolute of clematis exists. The note is an entirely synthetic fantasy accord.

Molecular Formula	Complex mixture; contains anemonin, protoanemonin
CAS Number	Not assigned (Clematis spp.; no commercial essential oil)
Botanical Name	Clematis spp.
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Synonyms	CLEMATIS VINE · TRAVELER'S JOY
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	Medium
Appearance	Flowering climbing vine; no essential oil — used as olfactory concept

In Perfumery

Clematis is a green, vine-like fantasy heart-note modifier. The accord captures the plant rather than the flower: green-leaf aldehydes, trace benzaldehyde (almond), clean musks, and faint white-floral. Works in green, garden-themed, and English-countryside compositions as a climbing-vine reference.