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Wild Garlic Leaf

Q: Is Wild Garlic Leaf natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: Steam distillation of leaves yields an oil rich in organosulfur compounds. However, the oil is almost never used in commercial perfumery due to overwhelming pungency..

GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES / fresh · green · earthy

Wild Garlic Leaf

Category	GREENS, HERBS AND FOUGERES
Subcategory	fresh · green · earthy
Origin
Volatility	Heart Note
Botanical	Allium ursinum
Appearance	Pale green to yellowish liquid
Odor Strength	Medium
Producing Countries	Asia, Europe
Pyramid	Heart

Pungent green sulfur over wet forest floor. Crushing a wild garlic leaf releases a sharp allium blast tempered by chlorophyll freshness, like spring woodland after rain.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Sharp, sulfurous green blast on crushing. More vegetal than culinary garlic, with a strong chlorophyll-wet-leaf undertone. The sulfur compounds give it an animalic edge absent from most green notes. Pungent, forest-floor, alive.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Sharp sulfurous green blast, pungent and vegetal

After a few hours

Green chlorophyll dominates, sulfur softens

After a few days

Faint green-earthy trace, sulfur dissipated

The Full Story

Wild garlic (Allium ursinum), known as ramsons, carpets European deciduous forests in spring. The leaves emit their characteristic smell when cell walls break and the enzyme alliinase converts odorless sulfoxides into volatile thiosulfinates and polysulfides. The dominant volatiles include diallyl disulfide, allyl methyl disulfide, and dimethyl trisulfide.

In perfumery, this is an extreme green note. It is almost never used as an extracted oil but rather as a conceptual reference point. When perfumers want this quality, they typically use traces of dimethyl sulfide or green-sulfurous synthetics alongside cis-3-hexenol or galbanum.

The leaf accord functions as a top note with aggressive projection. It adds a feral, untamed quality to green compositions. Extremely potent in small doses.

This note in Première Peau. Simili Mirage · Gravitas Capitale. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

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Related: Acronychia Pedunculata · Adoxal · Agave · Algae · Aloe Vera · Aromatic Notes · Asparagus · Avocado

Did You Know?

Did you know?

Wild garlic leaves are odorless until crushed. The smell is a defense mechanism: the enzyme alliinase is stored separately from its substrate in the intact cell. Only when damage ruptures cell walls do the two meet, producing the sulfurous volatiles.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: Steam distillation of leaves yields an oil rich in organosulfur compounds. However, the oil is almost never used in commercial perfumery due to overwhelming pungency.

Molecular Formula	Complex natural mixture (key: diallyl disulfide C₆H₁₀S₂, allicin C₆H₁₀OS₂)
CAS Number	N/A — natural plant, no single CAS
Botanical Name	Allium ursinum
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Synonyms	ramsons, bear's garlic, wild leeks
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	Medium
Lasting Power	6–12 hours
Appearance	Pale green to yellowish liquid

In Perfumery

Extreme green top note, almost never used as a literal extract. The concept is referenced via traces of sulfurous green molecules blended with conventional green notes. Adds feral, untamed forest character. Must be dosed with extreme care.