Flouve

NaturalGREENS, HERBS & FOUGERESgreen · fresh · floral

HeartPyramid

3/5Strength

—Tenacity

1Origins

Specimen

Anthoxanthum odoratum

Definition

Sweet, hay-coumarin, green-grassy. Flouve is sweet vernal grass — the specific grass that makes fresh-mown hay smell sweet. Pure coumarin in botanical form.

SWEET VERNAL GRASS

Type: Ingredient
Olfactive family: Aromatic
Subfamily: Green notes
Cluster: Green leafy notes
Source: leaves and flowering tops
Chemical class: complex natural (essential oil)

Instruments

Pyramid

TTop

HHeart

BBase

3/5Strength

Medium

odour strength

Producing countries

France

Scent

Sweet, hay-coumarin, green-grassy. The definitive 'new-mown hay' scent — warm, sweet, slightly narcotic. Greener and more complex than pure synthetic coumarin because the natural grass provides herbal context. The smell of late spring in European countryside.

In PREMIEREPEAU

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

Terroir & Transformation

The Full Story

Flouve (Anthoxanthum odoratum), sweet vernal grass, is the botanical source of the 'new-mown hay' scent. The plant contains coumarin, which is released when the grass is cut and begins to wilt — the sweetness that defines hayfield fragrance.

The essential oil (rarely produced) is dominated by coumarin, with supporting herbal and green-grassy compounds. In perfumery, flouve provides the same character as synthetic coumarin but with additional green complexity and a hay-specific quality.

Sweet vernal grass is one of the earliest grasses to flower in European meadows (March-June). Its coumarin content makes it unpalatable to livestock — animals avoid it, which is why it persists in grazed pastures while other grasses are eaten.

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Related: Acronychia Pedunculata · Adoxal · Agave · Algae · Aloe Vera · Aromatic Notes · Asparagus · Avocado

Did You Know?

Synthetic coumarin (first synthesized by William Perkin in 1868) was the first synthetic fragrance ingredient used in perfumery — in Houbigant's Fougere Royale (1882). Before synthesis, flouve (sweet vernal grass) and tonka bean were the only sources. The entire fougere family descends from this one molecule.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method

Rarely produced as essential oil. The plant is more frequent as a tincture or absolute. Coumarin content approximately 1-2% of dry plant weight. Main use is conceptual reference rather than commercial production.

Formula: N/A — complex plant extract (key: coumarin C₉H₆O₂)
CAS: 68916-09-6
Botanical: Anthoxanthum odoratum
Appearance: green amber viscous liquid
Odour strength: Medium
Synonyms: SWEET VERNAL GRASS

IFRA status

See note

No IFRA Standard for the material itself (51st Amendment)

Physical properties

Flash point: > 200.00 °F. TCC ( > 93.33 °C. ) (est)

In Perfumery

Natural material providing genuine 'new-mown hay' character. Coumarin-dominant with green-grassy complexity. Functions in fougere, green, and pastoral compositions. Provides the same base character as synthetic coumarin but with additional botanical dimensionality. Historically important before coumarin synthesis (1868).

Role in the formula

01modifier

02signature note

03lifting agent

04blender

05naturalizer

06volume builder

Available as

essential oil