Green

Alfalfa

Note Profile

Natural 1 perfume

About

Alfalfa is a green, forage-plant note derived from Medicago sativa, used in perfumery to suggest fields of fresh cut fodder and wild prairie grasses. Its scent sits between fresh grass and hay, adding a naturalistic, rural and slightly earthy greenery to compositions. Perfumers may use it as an oil, resinoid, or reconstructed accord to capture the smell of sun-warmed alfalfa fields.

Scent Profile

In perfumery, alfalfa presents a distinctly **green**, **grassy-hay** odor with herbal and slightly earthy nuances.[1][7] It combines the sharp freshness of cut grass with the drier, sun-cured impression of hay, sometimes evoking sweet clover and wild prairie grasses.[3][4] Depending on concentration and context, it can read as airy and outdoorsy in the top and heart, settling into a more hay-like, rustic nuance in the drydown.

Citrus 0%

Floral 10%

Fruity 0%

Green 75%

Sweet 10%

Warm 10%

Woody 10%

Earthy 25%

Animalic 0%

Fresh 30%

Origin

Alfalfa comes from Medicago sativa, a leguminous plant widely cultivated as animal fodder across temperate regions of the world. In fragrance and flavor work, alfalfa oil and sometimes resinoid are obtained from the plant material and characterized organoleptically for their green grassy hay odor and flavor.[1][7] In modern perfumery practice, it may be used either as the natural extract where available or as a reconstructed accord built from green, herbal and hay-like aroma chemicals to mimic the smell of alfalfa fields.

Usage in Perfumery

Perfumers use alfalfa primarily in green, fresh and pastoral accords to suggest open fields, prairies and sun-dried forage. It typically appears as a heart to early base nuance, supporting grass, hay, clover, herbal and soft floral notes, and can add realism to countryside, barnyard-adjacent or rustic themes.[3][4] It blends well with clover, hay, herbal notes, light woods and subtle florals, where it can either sharpen the green aspect or provide a drier, hay-like transition toward the base.