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Lime (Linden) Blossom

Q: Is Lime (Linden) Blossom natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: Linden blossom absolute: solvent extraction of flowers of Tilia species. Pale yellow to amber liquid. Rich in farnesol, linalool, and geraniol. Commercial product, though expensive..

FLOWERS / floral · citrus · sweet

Category	FLOWERS
Subcategory	floral · citrus · sweet
Origin
Volatility	Heart Note
Botanical	Tilia cordata
Appearance	Colorless to pale yellow liquid
Odor Strength	Medium
Producing Countries	France, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland
Pyramid	Heart

Honeyed, green, and narcotically sweet. Linden flower tea in liquid form -- the most heady of all European tree blossoms, with a honey-herbal depth that fills entire streets in June.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Honeyed, green-herbal, and narcotically sweet. Like walking beneath a flowering linden tree at dusk in early summer -- the honey-heavy scent cascades from above, thick and calming, with a green, tea-like freshness and a faintly narcotic quality that makes you want to stop and breathe. One of Europe's great natural perfumes.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Honeyed, green, narcotically sweet. Heavy and calming.

After a few hours

The green settles. Deep, honeyed, tea-like warmth.

After a few days

A persistent, honeyed-floral residue. Beautiful tenacity.

The Full Story

Lime blossom (Tilia europaea, Tilia cordata, or Tilia platyphyllos -- "lime" here means linden, not citrus) is a beloved tree blossoms in European culture. The small, pale yellow flowers bloom in June and produce a powerful, honeyed-sweet fragrance that saturates entire boulevards.

The scent is complex: honeyed sweetness (from farnesol), green-herbal freshness, a faint narcotic quality (from farnesol and linalool), and a tea-like character (linden flower tea, or tilleul, is a staple infusion in France). The overall effect is calming, heady, and deeply associated with European summer.

Linden blossom absolute is commercially available (solvent extraction of the flowers) and is a valued, if expensive, perfumery material. It provides an authentic, naturalistic, honeyed-green-floral quality.

In a composition, linden blossom functions in the heart, providing a suggestive and specific floral characters available -- the smell of a June evening in Paris.

This note in Première Peau. Nuit Elastique · Rose Monotone. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

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Did You Know?

Did you know?

Tilleul (linden blossom tea) is the most consumed herbal infusion in France. Marcel Proust's famous madeleine episode in In Search of Lost Time was originally triggered by tilleul tea, not plain tea -- the linden blossom tisane was the specific vehicle for his involuntary memory. The passage is a celebrated moments in world literature.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: Linden blossom absolute: solvent extraction of flowers of Tilia species. Pale yellow to amber liquid. Rich in farnesol, linalool, and geraniol. Commercial product, though expensive.

Molecular Formula	C₁₅H₂₆O (farnesol, key floral component)
CAS Number	84929-52-2
Botanical Name	Tilia cordata
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Synonyms	LINDEN FLOWER · LIME FLOWER · TILIA FLOWER
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	Medium
Appearance	Colorless to pale yellow liquid

In Perfumery

Heart note in honeyed-floral, European, and summer-evening compositions. Functions as a honeyed, narcotic, tree-blossom element of extraordinary beauty. Linden blossom absolute is commercially available (farnesol, linalool dominant). Essential in compositions evoking European summers. a suggestive single materials in the perfumer's palette.