Maple Leaf

Note Profile

Botanical 1 perfume

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About

Maple leaf is the foliage, and it has nothing to do with maple syrup. GC-MS on Acer saccharum leaves finds ordinary green leaf volatiles, leaf aldehyde and leaf acetate. The one trade description agrees and calls it green, slightly sweet, woody and leafy. It is a green note with an earthy-woody undertone, not a gourmand.

Scent Profile

Maple leaf smells green, slightly sweet, woody and leafy, the ordinary smell of fresh foliage rather than syrup. A faint trace of dry woodiness runs through it. An organic, earthy note sits alongside the green, and a subtle sweetness rounds it off. It has nothing of maple syrup in it.

ScentWheel

Breadthmedium

EnvelopeTop · ~2h lasting

Family Green & Aromatic

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

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Origin

Acer saccharum, the sugar maple, and the leaf rather than the sap. Seguin et al., Chemistry & Biodiversity (2025), ran HS-SPME-GC-MS on Quebec leaves and report '(E)-hex-2-enal and (Z)-hex-3-enyl acetate as the major compounds', adding that 'these two compounds are also referred to as leaf aldehyde and leaf acetate'. Eight of their ten monitored compounds are green leaf volatiles; the other two are alpha- and beta-ionone at trace level. The same paper says 'despite all the research on the maple tree and its products, almost nothing is known about the volatile metabolites it produces'. No maple leaf extract is sold for perfumery. The trade description cited below comes from a candle-maker's fragrance-oil glossary, not from an isolated extract.

Usage in Perfumery

A green autumnal modifier in the top. CandleScience's note glossary gives the working description: 'green, slightly sweet, woody, leafy... Organic and earthy, the scent of maple leaf also offers a subtle sweetness and a faint trace of woodiness.' Attested on 5 Parfumo entries across 4 brands and absent from Fragrantica. Do not use it to build a maple accord - the published `maple` note is the sap material and is a different smell.