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FRUITS, VEGETABLES AND NUTS / fruity · floral · fresh
Rose Hip
Category
FRUITS, VEGETABLES AND NUTS
Subcategory
fruity · floral · fresh
Origin
Volatility
Heart Note
Botanical
Rosa canina
Appearance
Small red-orange oval fruits (pseudo-fruits of Rosa canina)
Odor Strength
Medium
Producing Countries
Europe, Northwest Africa, Western Asia
Pyramid
Heart
Tart, dry, faintly floral. Rose hip smells like the memory of a rose after the petals have fallen — concentrated fruit acids, dried-berry tartness, and a powdery warmth from the fine hairs lining the seed cavity.
Tart, dry-fruity, and dusty. Rose hip smells like a basket of wild berries left on a windowsill to dry — there is a sharp acidity up front (closer to cranberry or unripe hawthorn than to rose), a faint floral echo beneath (the genetic memory of the rose flower), and a powdery-fibrous base from the dried seed hairs. Less sweet and less obviously fruity than raspberry or strawberry. Less floral than rose petal. The overall character is austere, autumnal, and slightly medicinal — the fruit of a plant that has finished flowering and is now contracting for winter.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
After a few hours
After a few hours
After a few days
After a few days
The Full Story
Rose hip is the accessory fruit of Rosa species — primarily Rosa canina (dog rose), Rosa rubiginosa, and Rosa moschata. It is the hard, reddish-orange shell that remains after the flower has been pollinated and the petals have dropped. Inside are seeds embedded in a mass of fine, irritant hairs. The scent of fresh rose hip is tart-fruity, faintly floral, and more acidic than sweet — closer to cranberry than to rose petal.
Rose hip is famously rich in vitamin C (426 mg per 100 g in Rosa canina — roughly ten times that of oranges), along with carotenoids, polyphenols, and essential fatty acids. The seed oil, obtained by cold pressing, is dominated by linoleic acid (44-49%) and alpha-linolenic acid (32-38%), making it primarily a cosmetic ingredient rather than an aromatic one. The oil carries minimal volatile fragrance.
In perfumery, rose hip is a near-fantasy note. CO2 extraction can capture some of the fruit's volatile profile — tart, green, slightly vegetal — but the material is not commercially established in the fragrance industry. Perfumers who want a rose-hip effect typically construct it from: dried-fruit accords (cranberry, dried-apple esters), rose absolute fractions (for the family connection), tartaric or malic acid references (for sourness), and a powdery, slightly hairy-vegetal modifier. The result is used as a heart note in fruity-floral, rose, and autumnal compositions.
Rose hips from Rosa canina contain approximately 426 mg of vitamin C per 100 grams — roughly ten times the concentration found in oranges. During World War II, the British government organized nationwide rose-hip collection campaigns as a domestic source of vitamin C when citrus imports were disrupted by German U-boats. Volunteers harvested 450 tons of rose hips in 1943 alone.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Cold pressing of dried Rosa canina seeds yields a seed oil rich in essential fatty acids (linoleic 44-49%, alpha-linolenic 32-38%) — used in cosmetics, not perfumery. CO2 extraction of rose hips can capture some volatile compounds (terpenes, green aldehydes), but this extract is not commercially established in the fragrance industry. The perfumery note is typically a constructed accord assembled from dried-fruit esters, rose fractions, acid references, and powdery-vegetal modifiers.
Molecular Formula
N/A — complex fruit material (rich in ascorbic acid C₆H₈O₆)
CAS Number
84603-93-0
Botanical Name
Rosa canina
IFRA Status
No known restrictions
Synonyms
WILD ROSE HIP · DOG ROSE HIP
Physical Properties
Odor Strength
Medium
Appearance
Small red-orange oval fruits (pseudo-fruits of Rosa canina)
In Perfumery
Heart note and fruity-floral modifier. Rose hip provides tart, dried-fruit acidity and a connection to rose without the floral sweetness of rose petal or absolute. It functions as a sourness agent and an autumnal modifier — giving fruity-floral compositions a drier, more weathered quality. The note belongs to the fruity-floral family and appears in rose, fruity-chypre, and autumnal compositions. Typically a constructed accord: dried-fruit esters, rose absolute fractions, acid references, and powdery modifiers. The natural seed oil (cold-pressed Rosa canina) is rich in linoleic and alpha-linolenic acids but carries minimal fragrance — it is primarily a cosmetic ingredient.
