Small creamy-white to greenish flowers in loose clusters
Odor Strength
Medium
Producing Countries
Greece, Italy, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey
Pyramid
Heart
Green, faintly honeyed, waxy-subtle. Olive blossoms are delicate, pale, and mildly fragrant — the gentle sweetness that precedes the bitter fruit on ancient Mediterranean trees.
Delicate, faintly honeyed, waxy-green. Less aromatic than most commercially important flowers. A quiet, Mediterranean floral — the kind of scent you notice only when standing directly beneath a blooming olive tree. Mild, warm, faintly sweet, with the green-silver character of olive foliage.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Delicate green-honeyed floral, waxy, mild
After a few hours
After a few hours
Softer, barely perceptible sweet green
After a few days
After a few days
Essentially gone — extremely subtle flower
Terroir & Origins
Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.
The Full Story
Olive flower (from Olea europaea) produces small, cream-white blossoms with a delicate, faintly honeyed, green-floral scent. The flowers are subtle — much less aromatic than the fruit or the leaves — with a mild sweetness and waxy quality.
The volatile profile includes linalool, beta-caryophyllene, and various monoterpenes, giving the flowers a mild, green-floral character. Olive pollen is a major allergen in Mediterranean regions.
Olea europaea is native to the Mediterranean basin and has been cultivated for over 6,000 years. The tree is central to Mediterranean culture, economy, and territory. Some living olive trees are estimated to be over 2,000 years old.
In perfumery, olive flower provides a delicate, green, Mediterranean floral note — the blossom of one of civilization's most important trees.
A single mature olive tree can produce 500,000 flowers in a season — but only about 1-2% of these flowers will successfully develop into fruit. The massive overproduction of flowers is an evolutionary strategy to ensure adequate pollination despite wind-pollination's inefficiency.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: No standard commercial olive flower extraction for perfumery. Olive leaf extract (steam distillation or CO2) is available and shares some aromatic compounds. Some artisan perfumers prepare olive blossom infusions.
N/A — complex flower material (key odorants: linalool, (E)-β-ocimene)
CAS Number
N/A — no single CAS (flower)
Botanical Name
Olea europaea
IFRA Status
No known restrictions
Synonyms
Olive blossom, Olive tree flower
Physical Properties
Odor Strength
Medium
Appearance
Small creamy-white to greenish flowers in loose clusters
In Perfumery
Olive flower is a niche floral note — delicate, green-honeyed, Mediterranean. No standard commercial extraction for perfumery. Reconstructed from mild green florals, linalool, and honeyed modifiers. Functions as a subtle, terroir-specific floral in Mediterranean and olive-themed compositions. Olive leaf extract is more commercially available than flower extract.
