Ірис

Iris is one of perfumery's most prized raw materials — central to PREMIEREPEAU's Doppel Däncers, which sets French Pallida against Florentine Pallida across pink pepper and ambrette.

Orris root comes from Iris germanica and Iris pallida. Iris pallida is native to the Dalmatian coast in Croatia but is widely naturalised elsewhere. Iris pallida is also grown commercially for the extraction of essential oils from its rhizome, which is the orris root. In Italy, Iris pallida is produced only in Tuscany, in two limited hilly areas: Chianti near Florence and Pratomagno near Arezzo. It is usually complementary to olive oil and wine production. At a large plantation at San Polo, a good harvest gives about a million kilograms of fresh roots, which yield roughly 300 tons of dry root after peeling and drying.

Iris cultivation may have a biennial or triennial production cycle. Harvest begins after two to three years of growth. Fresh rhizomes are extremely acrid, and this acridity almost entirely disappears on drying. In the fresh state the rhizomes are practically odourless, and the characteristic violet odour develops gradually during drying. The violet odour does not reach its maximum for at least two years and intensifies even after that. After harvest, time is needed for iridals to oxidize into irones. Distillers sometimes extract rhizomes that are not fully aged, in which the irones have not yet reached their maximum concentration.

The chief constituent of orris root is oil of orris, at 0.1 to 0.2 per cent. Oil of orris is a yellowish-white to yellow mass that contains about 85 per cent of odourless myristic acid. Other components of the root include fat, resin, starch, mucilage, a bitter extractive and a glucoside called iridin or irisin. The oil almost exclusively contains irones and odourless fatty acids, so its commercial value is determined by its irone concentration. Irone is the chief odorous constituent of dried iris rhizome. Four main irones have been described: trans-α, cis-α, trans-γ and β-irone. The isomeric distribution of the irones depends on the iris species. Of more than 300 species of Iris, only Iris pallida and Iris germanica are currently used to produce natural irones. Alpha-irone has the formula C₁₄H₂₂O and a molecular weight of 206.32.

Iris pallida rhizomes now go mainly to the French perfumery industry, the Italian alcoholic drinks industry and the German children dummy industry. Orris root is a scented substance used in perfumes, soaps, tooth cleanser and clothes washing powder. Orris root powder is also used in the baking, printing and textile industries. The rhizomes are also used to make rosary beads and beads for children's teething necklaces. In cuisine, orris root is often included in ras el hanout, a blend of herbs and spices used across the Middle East and North Africa, and it has been used in tinctures to flavour syrups. There are several varieties of orris in commerce, differing chiefly in colour and the care with which they have been peeled. Florentine orris, from Iris florentina, is carefully peeled, nearly white, plump and very fragrant. Morocco orris, obtained from Iris germanica, is darker and less fragrant.

Iris root is the structural heart of Doppel Dancers, where orris butter meets violet leaf and powdery skin musks.

This note in PREMIEREPEAU. Doppel Dancers. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.