Peppery, green, slightly sulfurous, with a fresh watercress-like bite. The isothiocyanate character gives it a mustard-like sharpness underneath the mild florality. Like biting into a nasturtium petal — peppery heat, vegetal green, faintly sweet, with a nose-tingling sulfurous edge.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Peppery-green burst, sulfurous, watercress-like
After a few hours
After a few hours
Softer, less peppery, more green-floral
After a few days
After a few days
Faint green residue, minimal persistence
Terroir & Origins
Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.
The Full Story
Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) is a South American flowering plant whose scent is dominated by benzyl isothiocyanate — the same sulfurous, peppery compound found in mustard, wasabi, and watercress. This makes nasturtium smell more like a salad green than a garden flower.
The flowers are edible, with a peppery, slightly sweet flavor that has made them popular in culinary garnishing. Both flowers and leaves contain glucotropaeolin, a glucosinolate that releases benzyl isothiocyanate when tissue is damaged — the same defense mechanism used by all Brassicaceae (mustard family) plants, though nasturtium is in the unrelated Tropaeolaceae.
Tropaeolum majus is native to Peru and was brought to Europe in the 16th century. The name 'nasturtium' is Latin for 'nose-twister,' reflecting the peppery bite of the plant's volatile isothiocyanates.
In perfumery, nasturtium provides an unusual green-peppery-sulfurous floral note — more vegetal and spicy than conventional flowers.
The name nasturtium comes from the Latin nasus tortus (twisted nose) — the same etymology as the unrelated genus Nasturtium (watercress). Both plants were named for their peppery, nose-tingling quality, which comes from isothiocyanate compounds in both cases.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: No commercial extraction exists for Tropaeolum majus in perfumery. The flowers' volatile content is low. The isothiocyanate compounds are chemically unstable, complicating extraction. Any nasturtium note is reconstructed from synthetic materials.
Nasturtium provides a green, peppery-sulfurous floral modifier. No commercial extract exists for perfumery. The benzyl isothiocyanate character can be approximated using synthetic isothiocyanates, green notes, and peppery modifiers. Functions in green, spicy-floral, and garden-realist compositions. Unusual for a flower note — more vegetal-spicy than sweet-floral.
