Eight Plants Known for Their Naturally Occurring Aromas
There are over 1 trillion naturally occurring smells and aromas in the world. Each region across the world can have its own host of ecosystems and plant life with unique plant aromas. This article will cover some of the best naturally occurring scents and aromas that come from eight common plants.
1) Lavender: This purple plant is known for its sweet and aromatic scent, which makes it a smell frequently used in consumer goods such as bath salts, hand soaps, perfumes, or scented hair products. Lavender leaves are even a popular ingredient commonly used in teas.
2) Gardenia: Gardenias are a white flowering plant with a light and soft floral scent. Gardenia’s thrive best in tropical climates, and they can even grow to be over eight feet tall. If you want to smell gardenia at their best, be sure to be on the lookout for their white flowers in the early summer, which is when their blooming period typically occurs.
3) Sassafras: The sassafras tree might have an interesting name, but it has a smell that is just as interesting. This tree is native to North America, and it has a strong and sharp scent. When smelling this scent, it might be a bit overwhelming at first due to its potent and somewhat spicy smell. The smell of sassafras leaves is both sweet and spicy, but the bark of the tree tends to smell more like cinnamon.
4) Mint: The mint flavor and scent is used in a variety of products, such as tea, gum, or even toothpaste. The mint plant is originally native to Europe and the Middle East, but it has been widely introduced to many other locations across the world, making it a popular plant for common herb gardens. The mint plant is hardy and it has a cold resistant biology, which often provides it with the ability to grow for longer periods throughout the year. Interestingly enough, many gardeners have to frequently cut back, prune, or their mint plants due to their propensity to overtake gardening beds.
5) Pine Trees: This member of the conifer category can grow in many different kinds of ecosystems, but it is commonly found in parts of the northern hemisphere. Pine tree forests often cover the sides of mountains across northern regions in America, where they cover and blanket entire areas with pine scent.
6) Rosemary: Rosemary is a perennial evergreen shrub originally native to part of the Mediterranean region, but it is now commonly grown by many gardeners across the U.K., United States, Asia, and Europe, due to its uses as a cooking ingredient. Rosemary sprigs are commonly used in cooking for adding additional savory flavor to dishes. Interestingly enough, the word rosemary comes from the latin phrase ros marinus or “dew of the ocean”. Many savory cooking recipes often opt in to using it as an ingredient, because of its distinct woody taste and smell.
7) Oregano: Oregano, similar to rosemary, is another essential cooking ingredient with a woody scent. The oregano plant itself is typically a small flowering plant, but this herb can be easily recognized by its rich and savory smell. As many seasoned chefs know, oregano is also an important spice used in tomato sauce, and so it is likely no surprise that many gardeners elect to grow this herb in their home gardens.
8) Cherry Blossoms: The cherry blossom, or sakura, is a flowering tree commonly recognized by its soft, pink flower petals. When cherry blossom trees are in full bloom, their blooming period can generally last up to two weeks, and their scattered petals can leave a sweet floral scent. This tree is originally from parts of Eastern Asia and Japan, but it is now a common choice used by many homeowners in the United States as well. In 1912, the mayor of Tokyo, Yukio Okazaki, gifted a number of cherry blossoms to Washington, D.C. as a sign of the two countries’ strengthening relationship. Now, Washington, D.C. hosts an annual festival, called the National Cherry Blossom, to celebrate the blooming trees through local festivities and art.
The eight plants and scents above represent only a few of the vast amount of smells produced by nature, and there are many other interesting smells waiting to be discovered, whether they be from flowers or herbs or some other phenomena in nature.