Is Gajumaru Banyan natural or synthetic?

A fantasy or concept note, not a single material.

Gajumaru Banyan

AccordGREENS, HERBS & FOUGERESearthy · green · fresh

HeartPyramid

3/5Strength

—Tenacity

4Origins

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

Gajumaru Banyan perfume ingredient — Heart

Ficus microcarpa (Gajumaru) Ficus benghalensis (Indian Banyan)

Fantasy/Concept

Definition

Green, humid, rootbound. Gajumaru smells like standing inside a banyan's aerial root curtain after rain -- damp bark, crushed fig leaf, and the warm vegetal breath of tropical wood.

GREEN EARTHY FRESH

FICUS MACROPHYLLA MORETON BAY FIG

Type: Accord
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

Japan (Okinawa) Southeast Asia India Australia

Scent

Green, damp, latex-tinged fig leaf over warm tropical wood and wet earth. More humid and rootbound than standard fig accords, less sweet than coconut-tropical notes. The aerial-root impression brings a musty, bark-like quality absent from clean fig-leaf soliflores. The overall effect is enclosed, shaded, vegetal -- the smell of a place, not an ingredient.

In PREMIEREPEAU

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

The Full Story

Gajumaru is the Okinawan name for Ficus microcarpa, a banyan-family fig tree with extensive aerial roots. In perfumery, the note carries the atmospheric green-woody impression of the living tree rather than any specific extraction. The name carries cultural weight in Japan, particularly in Okinawa where ancient gajumaru are considered sacred.

The olfactory impression of a banyan environment combines several elements: the green, slightly latex-like smell of crushed fig leaves (from psoralen and bergapten compounds), the damp bark of aerial roots (earthy, slightly musty), the humid air trapped within the root canopy, and the warm, sweet background of tropical decomposing wood. No commercial extraction exists.

The accord is reconstructed using fig leaf absolute or synthetic fig-leaf molecules (gamma-octalactone, stemone), damp-earth notes (geosmin, vetiver), green-woody elements (galbanum, cis-3-hexenol), and a warm wood base. It functions as a green-woody atmospheric note in the heart zone, providing a tropical forest reference point.

—

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

Did You Know?

Okinawans believe kijimuna -- red-haired forest spirits -- live in the aerial roots of old gajumaru trees. The oldest known specimen on the island, in Nago, is estimated at over 300 years and has a root spread exceeding 30 metres.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method

No commercial extraction exists for Ficus microcarpa. The atmospheric note is reconstructed from fig leaf absolute, green-leaf synthetics, earthy molecules (geosmin, vetiver), and tropical wood bases.

Formula: Complex mixture (tree extract)
CAS: N/A — natural extract
Botanical: Ficus microcarpa (Gajumaru) Ficus benghalensis (Indian Banyan)
Appearance: Pale yellow to amber viscous liquid with a green-woody character
Odour strength: Medium
Synonyms: FICUS MACROPHYLLA MORETON BAY FIG

IFRA status

See note

Not applicable: accord or concept, not a single material

Physical properties

Note: No standardized commercial essential oil with defined physical constants. Extracts from Ficus microcarpa and Ficus benghalensis yield variable compositions depending on plant part and extraction method.

In Perfumery

Gajumaru/banyan is an atmospheric accord functioning as a green-woody heart note. It carries the microclimate inside a tropical banyan tree: fig leaves, damp bark, humid air. Built from fig leaf absolute or gamma-octalactone, geosmin (petrichor/earth), galbanum, cis-3-hexenol, and warm wood bases. The note works in tropical, green, and naturalistic forest compositions as a place-evocation rather than a single-ingredient reference.

Role in the formula

01modifier

02signature note

03blender

04naturalizer

05freshness

Available as

synthetic accord fantasy note