Sweet, rosy-woody, with a creamy linalool richness. Palisander (rosewood) smells like polished timber that remembers being a flower -- warm wood suffused with a natural floral sweetness.
Sweet, rosy-floral, creamy-woody. The linalool dominance gives it a clean, lifted floral quality; the wood provides warmth and depth underneath. More floral than cedarwood, less creamy than sandalwood, with a particular peachy-creamy undertone. The impression is of a wood that contains its own perfume.
Palisander rosewood in perfumery primarily refers to Dalbergia nigra (Brazilian rosewood, now CITES Appendix I -- virtually banned from trade) or more commonly Aniba rosaeodora (bois de rose), whose essential oil is dominated by linalool (75-95%). The 'rosewood' name comes from the rosy-floral scent of the freshly cut wood, not from any relationship to Rosa.
The essential oil of Aniba rosaeodora is one of the finest natural sources of linalool -- sweeter and more complex than synthetic linalool, with a creamy, almost peachy undertone (from trace linalool oxides and cis-linalool oxide). The wood itself has a warm, sweet, mildly balsamic character underneath the dominant floral top.
In perfumery, rosewood oil functions as a sweet-woody heart note bridging florals and woods. It provides natural linalool with a woody context. CITES restrictions have made natural rosewood oil increasingly scarce, driving substitution with synthetic linalool or ho wood oil (Cinnamomum camphora ct. linalool).
This note in Première Peau. Nuit Elastique · Albâtre Sépia. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.
The demand for rosewood oil nearly drove Aniba rosaeodora to extinction in the Brazilian Amazon during the 20th century. Each tree was felled to extract the oil. Today, leaf-distillation methods allow oil production without killing the tree, but wild populations remain severely depleted.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Steam distillation of heartwood chips of Aniba rosaeodora. Oil yield approximately 0.7-1.2%. The tree is native to the Amazon basin. CITES Appendix II listing restricts trade; sustainable plantation-grown sources exist but remain limited.
Molecular Formula
Linalool C₁₀H₁₈O (major component, 80–97%)
CAS Number
8015-77-8
Botanical Name
Dalbergia nigra
IFRA Status
Restricted: < 20 mmoles/L of peroxides (oxidation limit). Also subject to CITES Appendix I trade restrictions for Dalbergia nigra.
Synonyms
BRAZILIAN ROSEWOOD · ROSEWOOD
Physical Properties
Odor Strength
Medium
Refractive Index
1.460–1.465
In Perfumery
Palisander rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora) oil is a sweet-woody heart note providing natural linalool (75-95%) in a woody context. Bridges floral and wood families. CITES-restricted; increasingly substituted by ho wood oil (Cinnamomum camphora ct. linalool) or synthetic linalool. Works in floral-woody, chypre, and classic feminine compositions.
