Faintly sweet, green-aquatic, with a clean lilac-like quality. Much less intense than garden hyacinth, without the heavy, narcotic character. A transparent floral with a wet-green background — the scent of still, warm water with flowers floating on it. Waxy and delicate rather than projected and heady.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Faint sweet-floral, clean and aquatic
After a few hours
After a few hours
Soft green-waxy quality, barely there
After a few days
After a few days
Essentially vanished
Terroir & Origins
Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.
The Full Story
Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is a free-floating aquatic plant native to the Amazon basin, now considered one of the world's worst invasive species. The plant produces spikes of pale blue-violet flowers with a faint, sweet, lilac-like fragrance. The scent is subtle — nothing like terrestrial hyacinth (Hyacinthus), despite the shared common name.
The flowers contain linalool, benzyl alcohol, and various monoterpene alcohols. The scent is cleaner, simpler, and less heady than garden hyacinth, with an aquatic-green quality from the plant's water-surface habitat. The overall impression is of a mild floral growing on still water — quiet and unimposing.
There is no commercial water hyacinth essential oil or absolute. The plant is typically considered a pest rather than an aromatic resource. The note appears in perfumery as a conceptual reference to tropical waterways.
Water hyacinth can double its population in just 12 days under optimal conditions. A single plant can produce 3,000 offspring in 50 days. Lake Victoria in East Africa was nearly 80% covered by water hyacinth in the late 1990s, devastating local fisheries and water transport.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: No commercial essential oil or absolute from Eichhornia crassipes. The plant is classified as an invasive species in most tropical regions. Research has examined its volatile profile (linalool, benzyl alcohol, monoterpenes) but no commercial extraction has been developed.
N/A — natural aquatic plant, no commercial essential oil
Botanical Name
Pontederia crassipes (syn. Eichhornia crassipes)
IFRA Status
No known restrictions
Synonyms
Water Orchid, Common Water Hyacinth, Eichhornia
Physical Properties
Odor Strength
Medium
Lasting Power
24 hours
Appearance
Colorless to pale yellow liquid
In Perfumery
Water hyacinth is a conceptual floral note with no commercial extract. Reconstructed from light floral materials (linalool, benzyl alcohol), aquatic modifiers, and green-waxy notes. Functions as a quiet heart note in aquatic-floral and tropical-waterway compositions. Pairs with lotus, water lily, and other aquatic florals. Less dramatic than garden hyacinth, more atmospheric.
