GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES / fresh · green · floral
Lily-of-the-Valley Leaves
Category
GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES
Subcategory
fresh · green · floral
Origin
Volatility
Heart Note
Botanical
Convallaria majalis
Appearance
Dark green semi-viscous liquid
Odor Strength
Medium
Producing Countries
Asia, Europe
Pyramid
Heart
Green, crisp, faintly aquatic. The leaves of muguet — greener, wetter, and less sweet than the flower's synthetic reconstruction. Vegetal freshness with a watery edge.
Green, crisp, faintly aquatic-watery. The actual leaf — not the imagined flower. Vegetal, fresh, with the generic green-leaf character of crushed spring vegetation. Less sweet than muguet reconstruction, more honest — the plant as it actually smells rather than as we wish it did.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Crisp green, watery, vegetal fresh
After a few hours
After a few hours
Softer green, less sharp
After a few days
After a few days
Faint green residue
The Full Story
Lily of the valley leaves (Convallaria majalis foliage) have a green, crisp, slightly aquatic-vegetal character distinct from the flower's imagined scent. Since the flower itself produces no commercial extract (all muguet scents are synthetic), the leaf offers a different entry point — real, green, botanical, rather than fantasized.
The leaves contain convallatoxin and other cardiac glycosides (making the entire plant toxic), along with green-type volatiles: cis-3-hexenol (leaf alcohol), various monoterpenes, and traces of the aldehydes that green-leaf damage produces.
In perfumery, lily of the valley leaves provide a realistic green note with the cultural association of muguet — a material that references the plant's actual botanical character rather than its perfumery fantasy.
Useful in green, naturalistic, and May-garden compositions.
Every part of Convallaria majalis is toxic — even the water in a vase of lily of the valley can contain enough cardiac glycosides to be dangerous. Despite this, it remains France's traditional May Day gift flower (muguet du 1er mai).
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: No commercial extraction of Convallaria majalis leaves exists for perfumery. The plant is toxic (cardiac glycosides). The green-leaf character is reconstructed from cis-3-hexenol and related green synthetics.
N/A — natural plant material (no standard essential oil)
Botanical Name
Convallaria majalis
IFRA Status
No known restrictions
Synonyms
MAY LILY · CONVALLARIA
Physical Properties
Odor Strength
Medium
Appearance
Dark green semi-viscous liquid
Specific Gravity
0.900 to 0.950 @ 25 °C (est)
In Perfumery
Lily of the valley leaves provide a green, vegetal modifier associated with the muguet plant. Reconstructed from cis-3-hexenol (leaf alcohol), green terpenes, and watery-fresh modifiers. Functions as a realistic green note in spring, garden, and naturalistic compositions. Provides the plant's actual botanical character rather than the flower's synthetic fantasy.
