Moon Flower

Note Profile

Botanical

About

Moon Flower is the night-opening white trumpet flower of the vine Ipomoea alba. It smells intensely sweet and tropical over a clean white-floral body, with a faint cool, minty edge. Trade sources place it as sweeter and less indolic than jasmine, and less narcotic than tuberose.

Scent Profile

White_floral is the body of the note and every source names it: Premiere Peau calls it 'a clean white-floral character', Foraged calls it 'a cross between jasmine and vanilla'. Sweet_vanillic carries the sugar, which two independent sources make central - 'the sweetness is almost sugary', 'a pure, radiating white sweetness', and the vanilla half of the Foraged comparison. Tropical comes from the one comparative claim available: 'the sweetness is heavier and more tropical than jasmine'. Below the line, floral is the generic petal body under the white-floral top, cooling_mentholic is the 'faint minty-fresh edge' the trade glossary names twice and no other source repeats, and green is held near zero because the same glossary contrasts this flower with the damp, vegetal green of datura. No indole, animalic or lactonic value is asserted, because the only source that discusses those facets says this flower has less of them than its neighbours and does not say how much.

ScentWheel

Breadthmedium

EnvelopeHeart · ~6h lasting

Family Floral, Sweet & Gourmand, Fruity

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

Origin

Ipomoea alba, a climbing vine in the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae), native to tropical America and grown worldwide as an ornamental. The flowers open after dusk and last a single night, and the strong sugary scent carries on still air to attract night-flying moths. No essential oil or absolute is produced from the flower, so every perfumery use is a reconstructed accord.

Usage in Perfumery

Built as an accord in white-floral and tropical-floral compositions, usually for a radiant, sugary night-flower effect that reads brighter and cleaner than tuberose. 15 Fragrantica listings, grouped there under white flowers.