GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES / green · fresh · floral
Violet Leaf
Category
GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES
Subcategory
green · fresh · floral
Origin
Volatility
Heart Note
Botanical
Viola odorata
Appearance
dark green amber viscous liquid to semi-solid
Odor Strength
High
Producing Countries
Egypt, France, China
Pyramid
Heart
Cold, metallic green — cucumber rind and crushed stems on wet earth. Nothing floral. Violet leaf smells like reaching into a damp garden bed and snapping a handful of stems between your fingers.
Cold, metallic green with a pronounced cucumber-aquatic quality. Sharper and more mineral than galbanum, colder and less herbal than cis-3-hexenol alone. There is a fatty, almost waxy undertone beneath the green — like the inside of a melon rind. No sweetness, no powder, no floral quality whatsoever. On skin, after an hour, it softens toward a suede-like green with a faint earthy residue. It is a uncompromising green materials in perfumery: blunt, direct, and cold.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Sharp, cold, metallic green — raw cucumber rind, crushed stems, a faint fatty bite
After a few hours
After a few hours
Green softens; a waxy, suede-like quality emerges, less aggressive, more textile
After a few days
After a few days
Faint earthy-green residue, warm wax, quiet and settled
Terroir & Transformation
Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.
The Full Story
Violet leaf absolute has nothing to do with violet flowers. The flowers of Viola odorata are nearly mute — they yield almost no extractable scent. The leaves are where the material lives: a dark green, viscous absolute with an aggressively cold, metallic character. The defining molecule is (2E,6Z)-nonadienal, sometimes called cucumber aldehyde, which produces the sharp, green, slightly fatty bite that makes violet leaf immediately recognisable. It is joined by nonadienol, cis-3-hexenol (leaf alcohol), and a matrix of green-fatty aldehydes that reinforce the overall impression of crushed vegetation.
Production is centred in Egypt, where Viola odorata is cultivated in the Nile Delta. Leaves are harvested from December to May — up to four cuttings per season, yielding roughly ten tonnes of leaves per hectare per harvest. France, specifically the village of Tourrettes-sur-Loup near Grasse, was historically the principal source. Commercial violet cultivation for perfumery began in the Grasse region around 1867. French production has declined but still exists: leaves are mown between May and July and delivered same-day to Grasse for processing.
Extraction uses petroleum ether or hexane on fresh leaves, producing a dark green concrete (yield approximately 0.09%). The concrete is then washed with ethanol, chilled to precipitate waxes, filtered, and the solvent evaporated to obtain the absolute. Roughly 1,000 to 1,100 kg of leaves yield 1 kg of concrete. The absolute is expensive — high demand, low yield, labour-intensive harvest.
A 2014 GC-O/MS study identified 70 volatile compounds in violet leaf absolutes, 61 of which had never been reported for this species. Ethyl hexanoate and (2E,6Z)-nonadienol were identified as markers distinguishing French from Egyptian origins — terroir is chemically legible in this material.
The flowers of Viola odorata are almost entirely mute — they produce negligible extractable fragrance material. The entire commercial value of the plant for perfumery lies in its leaves. This is unusual: in most aromatic species, the flower is the primary target. Violet flowers' scent comes from ionones, which temporarily disable the olfactory receptors that detect them — the famous phenomenon where violet flowers seem to appear and disappear from perception.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Solvent extraction (petroleum ether or hexane) of fresh Viola odorata leaves produces a dark green concrete — yield approximately 0.09% (roughly 900 g of concrete from 1 tonne of leaves). The concrete is dissolved in ethanol, chilled to -32°C to precipitate waxes, filtered, and the ethanol evaporated to yield the absolute. Two hexane extractions of approximately two hours each are standard. Primary production: Egypt (Nile Delta, December–May harvest). Secondary: France (Tourrettes-sur-Loup, May–July harvest). Approximately 1,000–1,100 kg of fresh leaves yield 1 kg of concrete; absolute yield is lower still.
Complex mixture — key odorants: (2E,6Z)-nonadienal (C₉H₁₄O, CAS 557-48-2), (2E,6Z)-nonadienol (C₉H₁₆O, CAS 28069-72-9), cis-3-hexenol (C₆H₁₂O)
CAS Number
8024-08-6
Botanical Name
Viola odorata
IFRA Status
Restricted (IFRA 51st Amendment). Usage limits apply by product category. Verify current limits in the IFRA Standards Library.
Synonyms
VIOLET LEAF ABSOLUTE · FEUILLE DE VIOLETTE
Physical Properties
Odor Strength
High
Lasting Power
400 hours at 100.00%
Appearance
dark green amber viscous liquid to semi-solid
Flash Point
> 200.00 °F. TCC ( > 93.33 °C. )
Specific Gravity
0.94700 to 0.95000 @ 25.00 °C.
Refractive Index
1.48000 to 1.50000 @ 20.00 °C.
In Perfumery
Violet leaf absolute functions as a signature green note and a structural modifier. It delivers cold, metallic green intensity that no single synthetic fully replicates — though combinations of (2E,6Z)-nonadienal, cis-3-hexenol, and cis-3-hexenyl acetate (leaf acetate) approximate aspects of its character. Violet methyl carbonate (CAS 87731-18-8) reproduces part of the green-floral quality but lacks the absolute's cold mineral edge. In composition, violet leaf anchors chypre structures by bridging bergamot and oakmoss. It is a defining element of green florals and adds credibility to masculine fougères. In iris-violet compositions, it counterbalances the powdery sweetness of ionones with raw green sharpness. It also supports tuberose compositions, bringing a green quality that cuts through indolic richness.
