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Fire Lily in Perfumery | Première Peau

FLOWERS  /  floral · spicy · sweet
Fire Lily
Fire Lily perfume ingredient
CategoryFLOWERS
Subcategoryfloral · spicy · sweet
Origin
VolatilityHeart Note
BotanicalGloriosa superba
Odor StrengthMedium
Producing CountriesIndia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zimbabwe
PyramidHeart

Warm, spicy-floral, faintly exotic. Fire lily (Gloriosa superba) carries a scent as dramatic as its flame-shaped petals — peppery, waxy, tropical-green.

  1. Scent
  2. The Full Story
  3. Fun Fact
  4. Extraction & Chemistry
  5. In Perfumery
  6. See Also

Scent

Mild, waxy, spicy-peppery floral with green-tropical undertones. The spice comes from traces of terpenoid compounds. Less sweet than most tropical flowers, more vegetal than ornamental lilies. A flame-colored flower that smells cooler than it looks — waxy, slightly astringent, quietly exotic.

Evolution over time

Immediately

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The Full Story

Fire lily (Gloriosa superba, also called flame lily or glory lily) is a climbing plant native to tropical Africa and Asia. Its spectacular crimson-and-yellow flowers are among the most visually dramatic in the plant kingdom. The plant is also a toxic — all parts contain colchicine, a potent alkaloid.

The floral scent is subtle compared to the visual impact: a mild, waxy, slightly spicy-peppery florality with green-tropical undertones. Less intense than lily, less sweet than frangipani. The scent is not commercially captured for perfumery.

Gloriosa superba is the national flower of Zimbabwe and the state flower of Tamil Nadu, India. Despite its toxicity, the plant's tubers are commercially cultivated in India for colchicine extraction (used pharmaceutically for gout treatment).

In perfumery, fire lily is a fantasy note suggesting an exotic, warmly spiced floral — reconstructed from peppery-spicy materials, waxy florals, and tropical green modifiers.

Did You Know?

Did you know?
Gloriosa superba's colchicine content makes it a toxic garden plants — as few as 6 mg of colchicine can be fatal to an adult human. The same alkaloid, at pharmaceutical doses, remains the first-line treatment for acute gout attacks.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: No commercial extraction exists for perfumery. Gloriosa superba contains colchicine throughout the plant, making handling hazardous. The tubers are cultivated in India for pharmaceutical colchicine extraction, not for fragrance. Any fire lily note in perfumery is entirely reconstructed.

Molecular FormulaN/A — complex natural mixture
CAS NumberN/A — natural flower (no standard essential oil)
Botanical NameGloriosa superba
IFRA StatusNo known restrictions
SynonymsGLORIOSA LILY · FLAME LILY
Physical Properties
Odor StrengthMedium

In Perfumery

Fire lily is a fantasy note — no commercial Gloriosa extract exists (all plant parts are toxic with colchicine). Reconstructed from waxy florals (Hedione), spicy modifiers (pink pepper, beta-caryophyllene), and tropical green accents. Functions as an exotic floral heart note in tropical, spicy-floral, and dramatic compositions. The colchicine toxicity makes direct extraction impractical.

See Also

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