Aglaia

Note Profile

Botanical

About

Sweet lemony floral from the tiny yellow flowers of the Chinese perfume tree.

Scent Profile

Citrus and floral in almost equal measure, which is the whole of what the sources agree on. Top Tropicals gives the only description of character found anywhere: 'sweet and lemony, with spicy undertones'. Fragrantica reaches the same place independently, calling it a fresh citrusy floral of great radiance. So the vector is built on two words, lemon and flower, with a light fresh_spice carrying the undertone Top Tropicals names but does not identify, and small sweet_vanillic and honeyed weights for the sweetness that both sources call out without saying what kind. Nothing supports a white_floral indolic depth, so that facet stays low rather than absent.

ScentWheel

Breadthmedium

EnvelopeHeart · ~4h lasting

Family Fresh & Citrus, Floral

Read off the wheel, not a label applied to the note.

Origin

Aglaia odorata, a shrub or small tree in the mahogany family, native to southern China and southeast Asia. The flowers are the size of a grain of rice, bright yellow and carried in clusters among dark shiny leaves. They are grown for scent rather than for looks and are used to flavour tea, to scent clothes and cigarettes, and, Top Tropicals says, to make perfume. No essential-oil house publishes an olfactive description for the extract, so nothing here rests on a trade source.

Usage in Perfumery

Attested in 22 Fragrantica perfumes and 4 Parfumo entries across 4 brands, filed under Flowers. No source found states a dose or a role in a formula, so the heart placement below is inferred from the odour type and not from a perfumer's statement. The one strength claim any source makes is about projection: Chicago Botanic Garden says the fragrance 'extends well beyond the plant' despite the flowers being tiny.