Fiji, Polynesia, Samoa, Tonga, United States (Hawaii)
Pyramid
Heart
Rich, creamy-sweet tropical floral. Pua keni keni blooms smell like a blend of gardenia and frangipani, narcotic and honeyed, turning from white to orange as they age.
Rich creamy-sweet with a gardenia-like narcotic quality and frangipani warmth. Honeyed and thick, intensifying as the flower ages. More carrying than jasmine, warmer than tuberose. The aging progression from white to orange is mirrored in the scent: it darkens and sweetens over time.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Fresh creamy-sweet white floral
After a few hours
After a few hours
Rich narcotic honey, gardenia-frangipani warmth
After a few days
After a few days
Persistent sweet-floral warmth, amber-like
Terroir & Origins
Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.
The Full Story
Pua keni keni (Fagraea berteroana) is a tropical tree native to the Pacific Islands, producing intensely fragrant tubular flowers. The flowers open white and deepen to orange-gold over two to three days, their scent intensifying as they age. The name means 'ten-cent flower' in Hawaiian, referencing its historic price when sold as lei flowers.
The scent is rich, creamy, and narcotic: a heavy tropical white-floral with gardenia-like sweetness, frangipani warmth, and a honeyed depth. The flowers contain terpenoids and benzenoid compounds that contribute to their intense, carrying fragrance.
In perfumery, pua keni keni is a natural note but rarely extracted commercially. The accord provides a specific Pacific Island tropical-floral character distinct from Hawaiian plumeria or Southeast Asian ylang ylang. It functions in the heart of tropical, island, and white-floral compositions.
This note in Première Peau. Nuit Elastique · Albâtre Sépia. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.
In Tongan culture, pua keni keni flowers are woven into garlands and worn during celebrations. The flowers are so fragrant that a single bloom can perfume an entire room. The tree's wood was traditionally used to make war clubs.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Enfleurage or solvent extraction is possible but rarely practiced commercially. The flowers are too fragile for steam distillation. Most representation uses related tropical white-floral materials.
Pua keni keni is a natural heart note in tropical, Pacific Island, and white-floral compositions. It provides intense creamy-sweet floral character between gardenia and frangipani. The flower's scent evolution (white-fresh to orange-rich) offers compositional range. Rarely extracted commercially; typically represented through gardenia-frangipani accord combinations.
