'The fragrance of Old Roses' by Robert Calkin

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Part of our fascination with roses stems from their extraordinary variety. No other group of plants in
horticulture seems capable of producing such an array of wonderful colours and forms. Yet what is
sometimes overlooked is that this applies equally to the diversity of their fragrance. Famous old
varieties such as Lady Hillingdon, Mme Isaac Pereire, Desprez Fleur Jaune, Sophies
Perpetual, Belle de Crcy, Mme Alfred Carrire, Ispahan, Seagull, and Splendens, each have
fragrances which are not only entirely dierent, but the quality of their fragrance has given each rose
an enduring place in cultivation quite apart from its visual beauty. Having spent my working life as a
perfumer I never cease to wonder at the extraordinary beauty of fragrance to be found in roses such
as these.
The chemical composition of the rose fragrance, in all its variety, is immensely complicated. Analysis
of the fragrant essential oil extracted from the owers of R. damascena Kazanlik the rose most
widely grown for the production of rose otto used by the perfumery industry has so far disclosed
nearly 400 identied constituents. Head space analysis can now capture and analyse the fragrance
as it leaves the ower, giving a truer representation of the fragrance as we actually smell it.
Hundreds of roses have been studied in this way, and although many details have yet to be
published, it is clear that the total number of ingredients found across the whole range of species and
hybrids is considerably greater than the number found in the Kazanlik rose.
If we examine the composition of this rose in more detail we nd that approximately 85% by volume
of the fragrant oil is made up of only four materials, another ten represent approximately 10%, with
the remaining several hundred constituents in the nal 5% of the oil. This type of composition is
found not only in the scent of roses but in many other owers such as jasmin, narcissus, and
lavender. In R. gallica and the groups descended from it, the Damasks, Centifolias and Albas, the
major components are the so-called rose alcohols: phenylethyl alcohol, citronellol, geraniol and
nerol, which occur in dierent proportions from one rose to another. Phenylethyl alcohol has a soft
petal-like character typical of the lighter coloured Gallicas and is the main ingredient of commercially produced rose
water. Citronellol has a wonderfully warm and vibrant character perhaps best smelled in some of the Rugosa hybrids
such as Blanc Double de Coubert. Geraniol is similar but with a somewhat sharper character reminiscent of
geranium leaves, while nerol is the harshest of these and fresher. All these materials, which are widely used by the
perfumery industry, are essentially rosy in character and together form the basis of the typical Old Rose fragrance
of the European roses and Rugosas. On their own, however, they would make a poor fragrance, for it is the
hundreds of other materials, many of which are quite unrose-like in character and some of which are intensely
strong, that provide the individuality, depth and carrying power. Why this type of composition which evolved for the
delight of insects, should appeal to our own sense of the beautiful is not understood, but it is equally important in
the creation of ne perfumes.
The fragrance of R. gigantea , the ancestral species from which the Tea-scented roses were derived, has a similar
composition with two types of material making up the heart of the fragrance. One of these, dimethoxy toluene, which
has a slightly tary and humid character (as in a greenhouse), represents 50% of the fragrance and is unique to this
rose and its descendants. The other, dihydro-beta-ionol, which represents about 10%, has an earthy, violet
character. This material is also found in smaller amounts in R. chinensis, another presumed parent of the Tea roses
and a grandparent of the Tea Noisettes. This and related materials, the ionones, can best be smelled in the
wonderful Hybrid Musk rose Bu Beauty, and in the Banksian roses. (From the olfactory evidence I suspect that the
Banksians, with their intense violet character, may also have been involved somewhere along the line in the Tea
rose ancestry).

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Another of these materials, dihydro-beta-ionone, is partly responsible for the raspberry character of many modern
hybrids such as the famous Queen Elizabeth rose, the fragrance of which is closely related in composition to that of
the Tea-scented roses, with almost no European inuence.
Some of the most remarkable fragrances have resulted from crosses between two species or near species. For
example, the Autumn Damask, Quatre Saison, to my nose one of the most beautifully scented of roses (if sunshine
had a smell this would be it!) is a wonderful blend of the translucent old rose quality of R. gallica with the exotic spicy
character of R. moschata. Other examples include the exquisitely simple fragrance of Stanwell Perpetual ( R.
pimpinellifolia Autumn Damask), a scent which perfectly matches the colour and form of its owers, and Agnes, the
result of the somewhat unlikely cross between R. rugosa and R. foetida , with its intense verbena character. In these
examples the resultant fragrance can be seen at least in part as a blending of those of the two parents with a certain
amount of rebalancing.
Occasionally, however, the combined chemistry of the two parents will throw up something entirely new. This
occurred in two roses, Ruga and Splendens, resulting from crosses between R. arvensis and a variety of R.
chinensis probably Old Blush. Both Ruga and Splendens have a fresh anis character due to the dominance of a
single material 4-vinyl anisole. This material has reappeared in many of the English Roses of David Austin,
beginning with Constance Spry and reaching new levels of intensity in such varieties as the beautiful Scepterd
Isle and St Cecilia. (Such roses are usually described as myrrh-scented, and although this has now become an
established convention the smell has little to do with that of real myrrh. Something approaching a true myrrh
character can be found as part of the fragrance of the Hybrid Musk Penelope.)
One of the most important marriages in the genealogy of roses was that between Quatre Saisons and Old Blush.
This took place in the Reunion, or Bourbon Isles, which subsequently became one of the main centres for the
production of raw materials for the French perfumery industry. Not only did this introduce the gene for continual
owering into the European rose, (as opposed to the single remontancy of the Autumn Damask), but it was also
responsible for the typical Bourbon fragrance, combining the brilliance of the Damask scent with a rich fruity
character.
Not all the early crosses were olfactorily successful. In some, involving members of the Synstylae in which the
fragrance is largely conned to the stamens, their double-owered descendants (with few stamens) have little or no
fragrance.
The lack of fragrance in some modern Floribundas, descended from R. multiora , is probably a result of this eect.
A similar failure occurred in many of the R. arvensis seedlings, although this, the more correctly named musk rose
of Shakespeare, has one of the most pungent and diusive of fragrances. The Musk Rose, R. moschata , another
member of the Synstylae has a delicious clove-like scent. All these roses have the wonderful ability to ll the air with
fragrance across a garden. The word `musk comes from the Himalayan Musk Deer whose scent, known in Europe
since the middle ages and widely used in classical perfumery, is similarly diusive. Sadly this extraordinary
character carried in the stamens of many of the old roses, such as the marvellous Hybrid Musks descended from
Trier, is absent in most modern roses.
Blush Noisette is another example of a less than immediately happy coupling to my nose at least. (Although I
have not smelled Champneys Pink Cluster of which it was a seedling, the parents of this rose were R. moschata
and R. chinensis Old Blush). Blush Noisettes powerful fragrance combines an intense green character, which can
be described as smelling of cut grass and banana skins, due to the presence of hexenols (mainly cis-3- hexenol and
cis-3-hexenyl acetate) inherited from R. moschata and R. chinensis , with an over sweet, somewhat marshmallowlike character coming from phenylethyl acetate, which makes a minor contribution to the fragrance of R. moschata.
Although Blush Noisette is frequently described as clove-scented, this character, which also comes from its
moschata parent, only appears spasmodically, just as the stamens reach maturity. However, whatever its own
shortcomings, this remarkable rose was the parent of the incomparably perfumed Tea Noisettes, which inherited

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most of their fragrance from their Tea-scented ancestor Parks Yellow China, as well as Deprez Fleur Jaune with
its amazing apricot and jasmin fragrance which probably owes more to its chinensis grandparent.
Apart from the Synstylae many other roses produce a fragrance in their stamens, which is often quite dierent to
that of the petals. One of the most remarkable is the widely grown Roseraie de lHa in which the typically
sumptous Rugosa fragrance of the petals contrasts with the fresh cucumber-like smell of the stamens. Incidently,
this combination of smells is used also by perfumers. In R. gallica ocinalis , as the owers mature, the pure Old
Rose fragrance produced by the petals gives way to a light musk note, coming from the stamens.
A summary of the main types of fragrance found in old roses is given in the accompanying table [ readers need to
consult the original journal to see the table Ed ]. This is backed up, where available, by the results of head space
analysis. Inevitably, as in any such classication, there are roses which dont t comfortably into any of these
categories, and this is particularly true of the old China roses. After well over a thousand years of hybridization both
in the wild and in the ancient gardens of China, China roses are a fascinating and mysterious subject in their own
right.
It is frequently said that the fragrance of most modern roses, although sometimes strong, lacks the exquisite beauty
and depth of their early ancestors. No doubt many of the poorer old varieties have long since disappeared from our
gardens, so the comparison may not be strictly fair. Nevertheless, many of the old roses, being closer to the original
species, retained the successful combinations and balances of components which were discovered by nature over
millions of years of evolution. Repeated hybridization has produced increasingly random mixtures of sometimes
incompatible fragrances, which, like a badly made perfume, lacked either a well dened character or lift. As with
colour in painting the excessive mixing of pigments can lead to a general eect of muddiness. The Hybrid
Perpetuals were the product of a frenzied period of hybridization between European and Chinese roses and now in
some Hybrid Perpetuals, but by no means all, the quality of their fragrance seems to show a deterioration, though
this is not necessarily true of the strength. Varieties such as Hugh Dixon and Ulrich Brunner have, to my nose at
least, a hardness to the quality of their fragrance which fails to draw one in like the wonderful Reine des Violettes
and Georg Arends, which are closer in style to their Bourbon and Damask ancestors. I suspect that the introduction
into the gene pool of Slaters Crimson China with its extraordinary beer-like fragrance may also have had a
detrimental inuence. I have only once smelled this rose, in the conservatory at the home of Maurice and Rosemary
Foster, so my assessment is open to conrmation. Perhaps it was having a bad day !
But it would be wrong to write o the fragrance of modern roses such as the Hybrid Teas simply as being inferior to
that of their ancestors. Many, too many to give individual samples, have remarkable and beautiful scents which
make a wonderful contribution to our gardens.
In the development of David Austins English Roses, by introducing some of the species and early hybrids into the
breeding programme, not only have some of the great fragrances of the past been recaptured, but some exciting
new directions have been introduced. For instance, the soft almondy-lilac character of Cottage Rose, the wild
strawberry note in The Countryman, the delicious white wine character of Sharifa Asma, and the intriguing blend of
the tea and myrrh scents in The Pilgrim.
Although purists may object to some of these innovations it would be a dull world if all new roses smelled the same
as their ancestors, however beautiful these may have been. One of the great attractions of the rose lies in its innite
variety.
Acknowledgements
1. Joichi, A. et al. Shiseido Research, Japan.
2. Schmaus, G. Dragoco Research, Holzminden, Germany (unpublished).
3. Yomogida, K. Shiseido Research, Japan.
4. Brunke, E-j. et al. Dragoco Research, Holzminden, Germany.

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Robert Calkin has spent 40 years in the perfumery industry and is the co-author of Perfumery, Practice and
Principles. Recently retired he has been studying the fragrance of roses .
This article appeared in the Spring 1999 issue.
For copyright reasons none of the colour photos (usually 25-30 per issue) which originally illustrated the articles
have been reproduced here
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