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Passion Flower

Q: Is Passion Flower natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: Not commercially extracted for perfumery. Passion flower is a fantasy accord reconstructed from green, watery, and metallic synthetics..

FLOWERS / floral · fruity · tropical

Passion Flower

Category	FLOWERS
Subcategory	floral · fruity · tropical
Origin
Volatility	Heart Note
Botanical	Passiflora incarnata
Appearance	Pale yellow to amber liquid
Odor Strength	Medium
Producing Countries	South America (Brazil, Peru), Central America, United States (Southern)
Pyramid	Heart

Green, slightly metallic, and herbaceous with a watery freshness. Nothing like passion fruit -- the actual flower smells of crushed stems and wet leaves.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Green, watery, and slightly metallic. Not sweet, not fruity. Like pressing your face into the vine after a rain shower -- wet stems, crushed green leaves, a cool metallic thread. The opposite of what you expect from so dramatic a flower.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Fresh, green, watery. Crushed stems and a metallic coolness.

After a few hours

The metallic edge fades. Soft, green-herbal warmth remains.

After a few days

Largely evaporated. A faint green trace on fabric.

The Full Story

Passion flower (Passiflora incarnata and related species) is a climbing vine native to the Americas. The flowers are visually spectacular -- complex, radial structures with fringed coronas -- but their scent is surprisingly understated. The aroma is green, herbaceous, and slightly metallic, with a watery freshness that recalls crushed stems rather than sweet petals.

A common misconception links passion flower to passion fruit (Passiflora edulis). While they are related species, the ornamental and medicinal passion flower (P. incarnata) smells nothing like the tropical fruit. The flower's aroma is closer to green tea leaves, cucumber, and wet stems.

In perfumery, passion flower is almost exclusively a fantasy accord, reconstructed using green notes (cis-3-hexenol, galbanum traces), watery-floral materials, and light metallic accords. The note provides a cool, green, dewy freshness that is less sweet than most florals.

The material sits in the top-to-heart transition, contributing a naturalistic green-floral quality to garden-themed, tropical-fresh, and aquatic-green compositions.

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

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Did You Know?

Did you know?

Spanish missionaries named the flower Passiflora because they saw the Passion of Christ in its structure: the ten petals as the faithful apostles, the corona as the crown of thorns, the five stamens as the five wounds, and the three styles as the three nails.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: Not commercially extracted for perfumery. Passion flower is a fantasy accord reconstructed from green, watery, and metallic synthetics.

Molecular Formula	complex mixture (benzaldehyde, linalool, multiple esters)
CAS Number	72968-47-9
Botanical Name	Passiflora incarnata
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Synonyms	Passiflora, Passion vine
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	Medium
Appearance	Pale yellow to amber liquid
Specific Gravity	0.880 to 0.930 @ 25 °C (est)

In Perfumery

Top-to-heart note in green-floral, garden, and aquatic compositions. Functions as a cool, green freshness agent -- less sweet than most florals, more naturalistic. Built from green-leaf materials (cis-3-hexenol, galbanum traces), watery-floral accords, and light metallic elements. Useful where a dewy, understated floral is needed.