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Crinum Lily

Q: Is Crinum Lily natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: Not commercially extracted. Crinum flowers yield no viable absolute or oil. Fantasy accord built from white-floral, lactonic, and spicy materials..

FLOWERS / floral · tropical · sweet

Crinum Lily

Category	FLOWERS
Subcategory	floral · tropical · sweet
Origin
Volatility	Heart Note
Botanical	Crinum spp.
Appearance	Pale yellow to amber liquid
Odor Strength	Medium
Producing Countries	Africa, Asia
Pyramid	Heart

Heavy, white-floral, and narcotically sweet. A tropical lily with a scent closer to tuberose than to garden lily -- thick, creamy, and almost overwhelmingly fragrant.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Heavy, creamy-white, and narcotically sweet. Like burying your face in a bowl of crinum flowers at dusk -- the petals exhale a thick, almost stupefying sweetness with creamy undertones and a faint green-spicy edge. Between tuberose and gardenia. Tropical and overwhelming.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Heavy, white-floral, almost stupefying. Creamy and sweet.

After a few hours

The narcotic quality deepens. Lactonic cream and quiet indolic warmth.

After a few days

A smooth, creamy-floral residue. Persistent and intimate.

The Full Story

Crinum lily (Crinum species, Amaryllidaceae family) encompasses roughly 180 species of large, tropical and subtropical bulbous plants. The most fragrant species (C. asiaticum, C. moorei, C. powellii) produce large, lily-like flowers with a heavy, heady scent.

The fragrance of crinum lilies is often compared to tuberose and gardenia rather than to true lilies (Lilium). The scent is thick, white-floral, narcotically sweet, with a creamy-lactonic undertone and a faint, spicy-green edge. The indolic quality is less pronounced than in tuberose but still present.

Crinum lilies are not commercially extracted for perfumery. The note is a fantasy accord, reconstructed using white-floral materials (tuberose fractions, gardenia-type accords), heavy floral musks, lactonic creaminess, and a green-spicy thread.

In a composition, crinum lily functions as a heart note, providing dense, tropical white-floral richness.

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

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Related: Arum Lily · Biomuguet · Calla Lily · Daylily · Fire Lily · Florhydral · Hydroxycitronellal · Lily

Did You Know?

Did you know?

Crinum species contain lycorine and other Amaryllidaceae alkaloids that are toxic to most herbivores. Despite this, the flowers are so fragrant that hawkmoths will travel considerable distances to pollinate them at night -- the heavy scent is a long-range chemical beacon.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: Not commercially extracted. Crinum flowers yield no viable absolute or oil. Fantasy accord built from white-floral, lactonic, and spicy materials.

Molecular Formula	N/A — complex natural (key alkaloids: lycorine, crinine)
CAS Number	N/A — no standard commercial essential oil
Botanical Name	Crinum spp.
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Synonyms	milk and wine lily, spider lily
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	Medium
Appearance	Pale yellow to amber liquid

In Perfumery

Heart note in white-floral, tropical, and dense compositions. Functions as a heavy, narcotic floral richness. Built from tuberose and gardenia fractions, lactonic cream elements, and green-spicy accords.