Palmarosa

[Asha]

Compiled from the Note Identification Project thread:

Palmarosa (EO, ATL Canada, Cymbopogon martinii from India)--3 drops on a cotton, wafted
Mellow and peanutty with a hint of citrus. It is not unlike Citronella, but has far less emphasis on the citrus/"meaty" and more emphasis on the nutty. I really like this one--I can almost eat it! After drydown, the nutty quality and subdued citrus is still present. However, the fragrance seems to have opened, so that I now smell something which resembles scented geranium. It is not quite the same as pelargonium geranium (which is already listed in a different category), but it does remind me of one of the pelargonium varietals which smells vaguely floral but with a bit of lemon.

Palmarosa - Not bad, but another disappointment, oily and without much fragrance.

[Agate]

I can't believe that there isn't more discussion on Palmarosa as a note. I bought some Palmarosa essential oil (organic Cymbopogon martinii from India, supplied by Farfalla) and was absolutely blown away by it. To me, it smells like ripe fruit. I get the immediate association of stewed apricots, sweet, aromatic but slightly tart, and also the impression of stewed mixed berries, again conveying that sweet-and-sour feeling.

Someone else got a strong impression of melon.

A fascinating note to me, I'm surprised that it hasn't attracted more interest. Perhaps there are large variations between different crops. The one that I have doesn't smell anything like peanuts, though I could see the geranium and citrus.

[Wild Gardener]

I seem to remember getting an oily bland type of rosy profile from palmarosa when I was doing materials 101.
Arctander wrote (in 1961) that it's a 'sweet floral-rosy odor [with] various undertones or topnotes according to the quality and the age of the oil.'
The best natural source of geraniol, it was used a lot for soap perfumes. I imagine its been overtaken by synthetic routes for geraniol these days. Even back then it was only 50 tons maximum production.