| False legend of the unscented camellia |
 In the novel "La Dame aux Camelias" by Alexander Dumas (fils), the heroine Marguerite, a.k.a. "Lady of the Camellias", scolds an unknowing suitor who displeases her by offering her a strong-smelling bouquet. Allergic to the strong scent of flowers, she always holds a bouquet of camellias with little scent to avoid coughing. This and other literary works have been written under the premises that camellias have no recognizable scent. While the flower is famous, its pure, clean scent is hardly known. But among the over 100 varieties of wild camellias discovered so far, seven are known to have sweet-smelling plum-like scents. Ikebana (the art of Japanese flower arrangement) artist Choka Adachi was one of the first to take interest in camellia scents. When a highly fragrant variation of Higo-camellia was discovered in 1968 by Mr. Ohta of Kumamoto City in southern Japan, Adachi named it "Nioi-fubuki" (Scented Blizzard). Characterized by a high content of linalool which is a base element of flower fragrances, it has a sweet, refreshing scent much like "Kohshi" (Fragrant Purple), another fragrant camellia discovered in the island of Izu Ohshima soon after. Its scent can be described as similar to that of the rhododendron (a type of azalea) but the perfume is so subtle that the flower must be smelled with utmost care. No wonder the camellia has been believed to have no fragrance at all. |
| [ t o p ] | [ p r e v i o u s ] | [ n e x t ] |
Copyright 1999 Shiseido Co., Ltd.