Intensely sweet, tropical-narcotic, night-blooming. Ipomoea alba — a morning glory relative that opens only after dark, filling warm nights with heavy white-floral fragrance.
Intensely sweet, tropical, with a clean white-floral character and a faint minty-fresh edge. Less indolic than jasmine, less narcotic than tuberose, but equally powerful in projection. The sweetness is almost sugary — designed by evolution to carry far on still night air to attract moths from distance. A pure, radiating white sweetness.
Moonflower (Ipomoea alba) is a tropical vine in the Convolvulaceae (morning glory) family. The large, pure white flowers open at dusk and close at dawn, releasing a powerful sweet fragrance designed to attract nocturnal moth pollinators (hawk moths in particular).
The scent is intensely sweet, almost overwhelming in warm, still air. The volatile profile includes linalool, benzyl alcohol, methyl benzoate, and various terpene esters. The sweetness is heavier and more tropical than jasmine, less indolic, with a clean, almost minty-sweet edge.
There is no commercial moonflower essential oil or absolute. The note is a romantic-conceptual reference in perfumery, evoking tropical nights, lunar symbolism, and the exclusive fragrance of flowers that bloom only in darkness.
Moonflower (Ipomoea alba) flowers open in a visible, real-time unfurling that takes only a few minutes at dusk. The opening is triggered by decreasing light levels and can be watched like a slow-motion film. Each flower lasts exactly one night, wilting by dawn — making it an ephemeral blooms in the plant kingdom.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: No commercial essential oil or absolute from Ipomoea alba. The flowers are too delicate and ephemeral (each flower lasts only one night) for commercial extraction. The note is reconstructed from sweet white-floral synthetics.
Molecular Formula
N/A — no commercial extract
CAS Number
N/A — natural flower, no commercial essential oil
Botanical Name
Ipomoea alba
IFRA Status
No known restrictions
Synonyms
EVENING GLORY · TROPICAL WHITE MORNING GLORY
Physical Properties
Odor Strength
Medium
Appearance
Colorless to pale yellow liquid
Flash Point
> 100 °C
Specific Gravity
0.900 to 0.970 @ 25 °C
Refractive Index
1.470 to 1.520 @ 20 °C
In Perfumery
Moonflower is a fantasy-floral heart note, always reconstructed. Built from linalool, benzyl alcohol, methyl benzoate, and sweet white-floral materials. Functions in nocturnal, lunar, and tropical-night compositions. The extreme sweetness makes it useful as a diffusive element in compositions designed for evening wear. Compatible with other night-blooming florals and tropical materials.
