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Mangrove Wood

Q: Is Mangrove Wood natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: No commercial mangrove wood essential oil or absolute. The note is reconstructed from tannic-woody materials, salt accords, and marine-organic modifiers..

WOODS AND MOSSES / woody · earthy · rich

Mangrove Wood

Category	WOODS AND MOSSES
Subcategory	woody · earthy · rich
Origin
Volatility	Base Note
Botanical	Rhizophora spp.
Appearance	Pale yellow to amber viscous liquid
Odor Strength	Medium
Producing Countries	Southeast Asia, East Africa, Central America
Pyramid	Base

Saline, tannic, dark. Wood soaked in salt water for years — the marine-woody smell of coastal forests where roots meet tide.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Saline, tannic, dark-woody, with a brackish-organic undertone. Less clean than driftwood, more alive and tannic, with a specific salt-soaked quality. The tannin content gives it an astringent, tea-like edge. When smoked: a particular salt-smoke character used in tropical fish curing. A dark, wet wood rather than a dry, architectural one.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Saline-tannic burst, dark and wet

After a few hours

Warm, salt-soaked wood, brackish depth

After a few days

Persistent dark-woody residue, faintly salty

The Full Story

Mangrove wood refers to the timber of salt-tolerant trees (Rhizophora, Avicennia, Sonneratia species) that grow in the intertidal zones of tropical coasts. The wood has a particular smell: tannic, salty, faintly smoky, with a dark, waterlogged quality unlike any freshwater or terrestrial timber.

The scent profile is shaped by the wood's constant exposure to salt water: tannins are leached and concentrated, mineral salts permeate the grain, and marine micro-organisms contribute a faint brackish-organic undertone. Mangrove wood smoke (used historically for fish smoking) adds a specific saline-smoky character.

In perfumery, mangrove wood is a niche conceptual note evoking tropical coastlines, estuary environments, and the boundary between land and sea. It provides a marine-woody character that no temperate wood offers.

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

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Related: Alder · Alpha Humulene · Amaranth · Amberever · Ambramone · Amburana Bark · Antillone · Apple Tree

Did You Know?

Did you know?

Mangrove forests are among the most carbon-rich ecosystems on earth, storing 3-5 times more carbon per hectare than terrestrial forests. Despite covering less than 1% of tropical forest area, their destruction accounts for up to 10% of deforestation-related carbon emissions.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: No commercial mangrove wood essential oil or absolute. The note is reconstructed from tannic-woody materials, salt accords, and marine-organic modifiers.

Molecular Formula	Complex natural mixture
CAS Number	N/A — natural material, complex mixture
Botanical Name	Rhizophora spp.
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Synonyms	mangrove, mangrove timber
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	Medium
Appearance	Pale yellow to amber viscous liquid

In Perfumery

Mangrove wood is a conceptual base note used in marine-woody and coastal compositions. Built from tannic-woody materials, salt accords, and brackish-organic modifiers. Functions alongside driftwood, seaweed, and marine notes in compositions that explore the land-sea boundary. More alive and organic than driftwood, darker and saltier than standard woody notes.