Is Pinwheel Flower natural or synthetic?

A fantasy or concept note, not a single material.

Pinwheel Flower

AccordFLOWERSfloral · green · powdery

HeartPyramid

3/5Strength

—Tenacity

3Origins

Editorial noteWe own no rights to this material, its name or its trademark. This entry is independent editorial journalism, published under freedom of expression.

Specimen

Pinwheel Flower perfume ingredient — Heart

Tabernaemontana divaricata

Fantasy/Concept

Definition

Sweet, jasmine-adjacent, and heady. Tabernaemontana divaricata -- a tropical flower with a heavy, creamy-white fragrance that intensifies at night.

FLORAL GREEN SWEET POWDERY FRESH

VINCA PERIWINKLE

Type: Accord
Olfactive family: Florals
Subfamily: Powdery florals
Cluster: Powdery florals
Source: flower
Chemical class: fantasy note

Instruments

Pyramid

TTop

HHeart

BBase

3/5Strength

Medium

odour strength

Producing countries

India Sri Lanka Thailand

Scent

Heavy, sweet, and jasmine-like. Like walking past a hedge of crepe jasmine at midnight in Kerala -- the white flowers glow in the dark and pour out a thick, indolic, creamy sweetness that saturates the warm night air. Less green than jasmine, more purely sweet.

In PREMIEREPEAU

DISCOVERY SET7 × 2 ml →EXTRAIT DE PARFUMThe seven extraits →

The Full Story

Pinwheel flower (Tabernaemontana divaricata, syn. Ervatamia coronaria), also called crepe jasmine or moonbeam, is a tropical shrub native to South and Southeast Asia. The waxy, white, pinwheel-shaped flowers have a strong, sweet fragrance similar to of jasmine, particularly intense at night.

The scent is heavy, creamy-white, and sweetly floral with a jasmine-like indolic quality. Like many nocturnal-fragrant tropicals, the pinwheel flower amplifies its scent production after sunset to attract night-flying moths.

The flowers are not commercially extracted for international perfumery but are used in South and Southeast Asian traditional garland-making and scented preparations.

In perfumery, pinwheel flower is a fantasy accord built from jasmine-type materials, heavy white-floral musks, and creamy-sweet elements.

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Did You Know?

Tabernaemontana divaricata is named after the 16th-century German herbalist Jacobus Theodorus Tabernaemontanus (born Jakob Dietrich von Bergzabern). The plant produces a milky latex containing numerous alkaloids -- it belongs to the Apocynaceae family, the same family as oleander and frangipani.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method

Not commercially extracted for international perfumery. Used in traditional South Asian scented preparations. Fantasy accord.

Formula: Complex — key alkaloids: Coronaridine (C₂₁H₂₆N₂O₂), Ibogamine; flower volatiles include linalool, methyl salicylate
CAS: N/A (no standardized essential oil CAS)
Botanical: Tabernaemontana divaricata
Appearance: Pale yellow to colorless liquid (floral extract or accord)
Odour strength: Medium
Synonyms: VINCA PERIWINKLE

IFRA status

See note

Not applicable: accord or concept, not a single material

Physical properties

Note: No standardized commercial essential oil from Tabernaemontana divaricata. White-flowered shrub with jasmine-like fragrance. Scent contains linalool, benzyl acetate, and methyl salicylate.

In Perfumery

Heart note in heavy white-floral, tropical, and night-scented compositions. Functions as a jasmine-adjacent, night-blooming floral. Built from jasmine materials, heavy floral musks, and creamy-sweet lactones.

Role in the formula

01diffusion enhancer

02modifier

03signature note

04lifting agent

05blender

06volume builder

Available as

synthetic accord fantasy note