Fruity-floral, tropical, with a jasmine-like sweetness. Carissa spinarum — a thorny African shrub with intensely fragrant white flowers and edible fruit.
Sweet, jasmine-like, with a creamy tropical quality. Less complex than jasmine grandiflorum, less indolic, with a cleaner, more straightforward white-floral sweetness. The linalool content gives it a bergamot-like brightness. Night-blooming intensity — projects sweetness in warm evening air.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Sweet white-floral burst, jasmine-like and bright
After a few hours
After a few hours
Creamy-tropical warmth, gentle and soft
After a few days
After a few days
Faint sweet-floral residue
The Full Story
Karo-karounde (Carissa spinarum, syn. C. edulis) is a thorny shrub native to tropical Africa and Asia. The plant produces small, star-shaped white flowers with an intensely sweet, jasmine-like fragrance, followed by purple-black edible berries. The name varies regionally — 'karounde' in Hindi, 'num-num' in some African languages.
The flowers contain linalool, benzyl acetate, and farnesol, giving them a sweet white-floral character with a creamy, slightly tropical quality. The scent is night-intensified, suggesting moth pollination. The berries have a mild, slightly tart-sweet flavor when ripe.
There is no commercial karo-karounde essential oil or absolute. The note is a botanical reference in perfumery, evoking African and Asian tropical landscapes with fragrant hedgerows.
In traditional African medicine, virtually every part of Carissa spinarum is used: roots for headache and chest pain, bark for snakebite, leaves for wounds, and fruit as food. The thorny branches are frequent as living fences — a natural barbed wire.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: No commercial essential oil or absolute from Carissa spinarum. The volatile profile has been studied (linalool, benzyl acetate, farnesol) but no commercial extraction exists. The note is reconstructed from standard white-floral materials.
Molecular Formula
Complex mixture (absolute/extract); no single molecular formula
CAS Number
68916-95-0
Botanical Name
Leptactina senegambica
IFRA Status
No known restrictions
Synonyms
KARO-KAROUNDE FLOWER · KARO-KAROUNDE ESSENCE
Physical Properties
Odor Strength
Medium
Appearance
dark orange yellow amber viscous liquid
In Perfumery
Karo-karounde is a conceptual white-floral note with no commercial extract. Reconstructed from linalool, benzyl acetate, jasmine-type materials, and creamy-tropical modifiers. Functions as a heart note in African botanical, tropical-floral, and night-blooming compositions. Related to carissa (Natal plum) and shares similar white-floral chemistry.
