GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES / fruity · green · herbal
St. John's Wort
Category
GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES
Subcategory
fruity · green · herbal
Origin
Volatility
Heart Note
Botanical
Hypericum perforatum
Appearance
Colorless to pale yellow liquid
Odor Strength
Medium
Producing Countries
Europe, North America
Pyramid
Heart
Herbaceous, slightly resinous, and honey-tinged. St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) smells like late-summer meadow — warm, dry herbs with a balsamic sweetness and a faintly medicinal edge.
Herbal, warm, and balsamic with a honeyed sweetness. Less sharp than thyme. Less camphoraceous than rosemary. Warmer and more resinous than chamomile. The overall impression is of sun-dried meadow herbs — gentle, rounded, and quietly complex.
A faintly medicinal edge (from the hyperforin content) gives it depth beyond simple herbal notes.
Faint, dry, herbal-resinous trace with honey undertone
Terroir & Transformation
Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.
The Full Story
St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) is a flowering herb native to Europe and western Asia, now naturalized worldwide. The plant is far better known for its pharmaceutical use (as a mild antidepressant) than for perfumery, but its aromatic profile is genuinely interesting — herbal, slightly resinous, with a honeyed warmth.
The essential oil and absolute are obtained from the flowering tops. Key aromatic compounds include alpha-pinene, beta-pinene, caryophyllene, and various oxygenated monoterpenes. The plant also contains hypericin and hyperforin, the bioactive compounds responsible for its medicinal properties, which contribute a slightly medicinal-balsamic character to the scent.
In perfumery, St. John's Wort is a niche material providing herbal warmth with a balsamic, slightly honey-like depth. It suggests wild meadow, dried herbs, and traditional herbal medicine cabinets.
St. John's Wort leaves contain translucent glands visible when held up to light — tiny oil-filled dots that inspired the species name 'perforatum' (perforated). These glands contain the essential oil and hypericin that give the plant both its scent and its medicinal properties.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Steam distillation or CO2 extraction of the flowering tops of Hypericum perforatum. The oil is red-tinted due to hypericin content. Yield is approximately 0.1-0.3% from fresh plant material. St. John's Wort infused oil (macerated in carrier oil) is more commonly available than pure essential oil. The absolute provides a richer, more complete aromatic profile.
complex mixture (hypericin C₃₀H₁₆O₈ as key component)
CAS Number
84082-80-4
Botanical Name
Hypericum perforatum
IFRA Status
No known restrictions
Synonyms
Hypericum, Klamath weed, Goatweed
Physical Properties
Odor Strength
Medium
Appearance
Colorless to pale yellow liquid
Specific Gravity
0.870 to 0.920 @ 25 °C (est)
In Perfumery
St. John's Wort is a niche heart note providing warm, herbal-balsamic character. It functions in herbal, meadow, and fougère-adjacent compositions. Less common than lavender or rosemary but known for unique honeyed warmth. works with other herbal notes, honey, beeswax, and warm-woody bases. Its association with traditional medicine gives compositions using it a vaguely apothecary quality.
