Horseweed

NaturalGREENS, HERBS & FOUGERESgreen · fresh · earthy

HeartPyramid

3/5Strength

—Tenacity

2Origins

Specimen

Erigeron canadensis

Definition

Sharp, green, faintly citrusy weed. Horseweed (Erigeron canadensis) smells like crushing a roadside plant -- pungent, herbaceous, with a turpentine-like top and a lemon-grassy edge.

MARESTAIL CANADIAN HORSEWEED FLEABANE ERIGERON CANADENSIS

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

Instruments

Pyramid

TTop

HHeart

BBase

3/5Strength

Medium

odour strength

Producing countries

Europe North America

Scent

Sharp, pungent, herbaceous-green with a turpentine-like freshness and a lemon-grassy edge. More aggressive than basil, less clean than rosemary, with a distinctly weedy, roadside quality. The limonene gives it a citrus note; the pinene gives it a piney sharpness. Wild and uncomposed.

In PREMIEREPEAU

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

Terroir & Transformation

The Full Story

Horseweed (Erigeron canadensis, syn. Conyza canadensis) is a common weed native to North America, now invasive worldwide. The plant produces a small quantity of essential oil with a sharp, herbaceous-green, faintly citrusy character. The volatile profile includes limonene, alpha-pinene, and trans-beta-ocimene.

In perfumery, horseweed is a rare note providing a sharp, wild-herbal green character. It is less clean than conventional aromatic herbs (lavender, rosemary), more pungent, and more 'weedy' -- the smell of abandoned fields and roadsides rather than cultivated gardens.

Functionally, horseweed works as a sharp green top-note modifier. It provides a wild, uncultivated botanical reference. Works in wild-nature, green-herbal, and hyper-naturalistic compositions.

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Related: Alpha Pinene · Angelica · Angelica Root · Angelica Root Oil · Artemisia · Barrenwort · Beachheather · Behini Tree

Did You Know?

Erigeron canadensis was the first weed to evolve resistance to glyphosate (Roundup), confirmed in 2000 in Delaware. It is now glyphosate-resistant across millions of hectares of North American farmland -- making this humble weed a successful evolutionary adapters of the agrochemical era.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method

Steam distillation of the aerial parts of Erigeron canadensis yields a small quantity of essential oil. The oil is not widely traded in mainstream perfumery supply chains.

Formula: Complex mixture — chief constituent: limonene C₁₀H₁₆
CAS: 8007-27-0
Botanical: Erigeron canadensis
Appearance: Pale yellow to colorless clear liquid
Odour strength: Medium
Synonyms: MARESTAIL CANADIAN HORSEWEED FLEABANE ERIGERON CANADENSIS

IFRA status

See note

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

In Perfumery

Horseweed (Erigeron canadensis) is a sharp, wild green top-note modifier. Limonene (citrus), alpha-pinene (piney), trans-beta-ocimene (herbal). Less clean than cultivated herbs. Works in wild-nature, green-herbal, and hyper-naturalistic compositions as an uncultivated botanical reference.

Role in the formula

01modifier

02signature note

03lifting agent

04blender

05freshness

Available as

essential oil