Re: Rose Damask and Rose Maroc

[Guest guest]

From:

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Sent: Monday, September 19, 2005 10:23 AM

Subject: Rose Damask and Rose Maroc

Is there a big difference between these two besides the type of rose?

Thanks

Hi ,

The Damask Rose is rugosa (usually steam distilled), and Rose Maroc is

centifolia (usually extracted as an absolute by solvent).

We sell a precious rose collection of 1 ml each of a variety of roses. The

following is the information that accompanies the collection and may be

helpful to you.

Rugosa Rose, Ramanas Rose or Japanese Rose Oil ( rugosa) Native to

Japan, China and Korea, the petals are used to flavor Chinese tea. The

plant bears slightly purplish-pink flowers and is often cultivated for its

enormous rose hips, which contain a high quantity of vitamin C. This rose is

said to be " richly fragrant " , having " one of the most delicious fragrances

to be found among roses, and very strong " , and Shoup recommends,

" plant it where you have access to its delicious fragrance or you will end

up with a well worn path leading to it. " The essential oil of the flowers

in our collection is obtained by hydrodistillation. Using capillary GC-FID

and GC-MS; 35 major constituents are identified, and include over 100

components including citronellol, geraniol, nerol, citronellyl acetate

making up over 76% of the total. In Chinese medicine, both petals and roots

are used. The fragrance of Rugosa Rose is more honeyed than Bulgarian otto

with a peppery or spicy note in dry-down.

May Rose Absolute, Rose de Mai, Cabbage Rose or Provence Rose (

centifolia var. Nabonnand or centifolia L. var. Lunier) Macoboy writes,

" the artists do not exaggerate its beauty, but they could hardly convey the

wonderful sweetness of its perfume. Indeed it has for over a century been

grown in the south of France to supply the perfume industry there with attar

of roses, " This rich Old Rose fragrance is extracted early in the

Springtime, hence the name “May” Rose. Highly sought after in perfumery, it

is rare to obtain outside that industry. Considered a superior odor amongst

roses, concrete production now is less than ¾ ton, representing a 22% yield

from the flower. This fragrance is a full rose with cinnamon-spicy

undertone, with a fresh, herbaceous sweet-honeyed note. Most rose absolute

is produced in Morocco in the valleys between the High Atlas and Jbel Sarhro

mountains east of Marrakech. Rose absolute is a refined, liquid extraction

of fragrant compounds from the fresh blossom. Although absolutes contain

essential oil compounds they differ from distilled essential oils. An

absolute is a refinement of a concrete, which is a thick, fragrant material

extracted from the plant using a hydrocarbon solvent. The concrete contains

essential oils, fatty acids and waxes. Absolutes are extracted from

concretes with pure alcohol. The alcohol dissolves and absorbs the fragrant

material from the concrete. Waxes, fats and other non-aromatic contents

precipitate out and are removed by filtering. The alcohol is removed through

evaporation. What's left behind is the pure, fragrant absolute - a

concentration of aromatic compounds including essential oil constituents.

Bulgarian Rose Otto ( damascena) Known as the finest rose essence or

‘otto’ in the world, Bulgarian damask rose oil has been distilled for over

300 years. The exact origins cannot be traced, however, there are fossil

records that show roses have existed for millions of years. It is the

oldest cultivated European plant in the United States, and has been called

the Queen of Flowers all over the world. The uses of rose oil date back to

the ancient civilizations of Persia, Asia, Greece, Rome and Egypt. It has

been and still is a symbol of love and beauty. Rose otto is steam distilled

and has a pale yellow color. Most rose otto is produced in southern

Bulgaria from roses grown in the valleys of the Stryama and Tundzha rivers

near Plovdiv. The best oil is distilled from newly opened flowers, picked in

the cool morning hours before the sun has warmed away the aroma. In order to

extract every trace of the precious oil, the distillation is done in two

phases. An initial distillation yields a small quantity of concentrated

green essential oil and a large amount of rose flower water. The flower

water is then redistilled to produce an additional amount of pale yellow

colored oil that is combined with the green oil from the first distillation.

The primary base notes are deep, sweet and floral with spicy middle notes.

It combines well with most other essential oils for perfumery or medicinal

use. Its primary constituents are citronellol, gerianol and nerol.

Although most Rose Otto is used in perfumery, the therapeutic uses include:

Analgesic (pain reliever), Antibacterial, antidepressant, antifungal,

anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antiviral, aphrodisiac, cosmetic, deodorant,

disinfectant, diuretic, emmenagogue (tones female reproductive organs and

menstruation), Germicidal, hepatic sedative tonic, vulnerary (heals fresh

cuts or wounds). Internal applications in the medical field include asthma,

high blood pressure, bronchitis, poor circulation, diarrhea, dysmenorrhea

(painful menstruation), cough, fever, fluid retention, Indigestion,

insomnia, palpitation, stress, urinary tract infections. For topical

applications, Rose Otto is specific for abrasions, boils, burns, fragile

capillaries, postnatal depression, dermatitis, eczema headache, insomnia,

poor memory, rashes, sores, oral thrush, tinea.

Rose Ruh Gulab ( damascena ) Another precious oil from the flower of

love & passion. This extremely rare and sacred rose oil is carefully

hydrodistilled to produce the finest Ruh Gulab for use in love, celebration

or relationship spiritual work, meditative, healing & calming rituals,

sacred products, or anointing. Ruh Gulab is the most expensive attar,

priced higher than gold in weight. Rose essence or Gulab Ruh, is used in

flavoring Gulab Jamun (a Bengali sweet) and rose sherbet. A mild, delicate

fragrance of desi (Indian) roses can be sprinkled on guests from silver

rose-water sprayers' at weddings. In the traditional process various

flowers, roots, herbs, spices, etc are hydrodistilled in copper vessels into

a receiving vessel, using an ancient process. This means that a certain

proportion of flowers or other aromatic plants is put into a copper vessel

containing water, sealed and the aromatic vapors produced from a wood or cow

dung fire, rises through bamboo pipes and passes into another copper vessel,

sitting below the larger distilling one. There the vapors condense and after

the day’s distillation the water and oil separate. This process is similar

to that of producing traditional attars with the exception that no

sandalwood is added.

Copyright: Samara Botane 2005

Rose of all Roses, Rose of all the World!

You, too, have come where the dim tides are hurled

Upon the wharves of sorrow, and heard ring

The bell that calls us on; the sweet far thing.

Yeats

Be well,

Marcia Elston, Samara Botane, http://www.wingedseed.com/katrina.htm

" First of all, cultivate a contented spirit; a garden is a good place to

begin. "

[Guest guest]

> Hi ,

>

> The Damask Rose is rugosa (usually steam distilled), and Rose Maroc is

> centifolia (usually extracted as an absolute by solvent).

> \

Are you sure? I agree that it is the cabbage rose cultivated in Morocco (i.e.,

centifolia) but I am 99.9% certain that the damask rose is damascena. I

have heard

that damascena may be from an old cross between gallica, R.

fedschenkoana

and moschata.

Still, a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, eh? )

Here are some references to get you started:

http://plants.usda.gov:8080/plants/profile?symbol=RODA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?

cmd=Retrieve & db=PubMed & list_uids=11163961 & dopt=Abstract

[Guest guest]

At 10:50 PM 9/19/2005, you wrote:

> > Hi ,

> >

> > The Damask Rose is rugosa (usually steam distilled), and Rose Maroc is

> > centifolia (usually extracted as an absolute by solvent).

> > \

>

>Are you sure? I agree that it is the cabbage rose cultivated in Morocco

>(i.e.,

>centifolia) but I am 99.9% certain that the damask rose is

>damascena. I have heard

>that damascena may be from an old cross between gallica, R.

>fedschenkoana

>and moschata.

Hi Beta, Marcia

I'm no plant taxonomist (my worst subject in school) but I seem to remember

that, also. Well, not all the hybridization stuff, but the bit about Damask

Rose is Damascena.

Anya

http://.com

The premier site on the Web to discover the beauty of Natural Perfume

" The Age of the Foodie is passé. It is now the Age of the Scentie. "

[Guest guest]

> So for the difference -- It seems to me that the fragrance of Damask Rose

> Absolute (from damascena) and Rose Maroc Absolute (from

> centifolia) are similar but the Rose Maroc tends to be sweeter/lighter in

> fragrance, and the Damask Rose is deeper/heavier. I like them both! but

> usually tend to prefer the Damask Rose. The French, it is said, highly value

> the Rose Maroc. Anyone else have a favorite???

>

Well, I have found absolutes that I have smelled from the Damask rose to be a

little less

rosey than those from the Centifolia. I know this sounds weird. I don't know

how to

describe it exactly, but all of the Damask absolutes made me think spicy, while

the Marocs

MOSTLY seem sweeter (like you said), somewhat fruitier, and somehow a little

more

immediately appealing in high concentrations. In my limited experience, I have

also felt

that the Damask absolutes have had a bit more of a hexane smell, though this may

just be

bad luck. If I had to pick one to be with me if I were stranded on a desert

island for a

decade or so, I would take the centifolia absolutes.

I have a vial of centifolia absolute ( " Rose de Mai " ) from Grasse that I

purchased from White

Lotus, and it is very different from the Moroccan absolutes of the same species.

It has a

certain quality that is unique, but if I had to put it into one group or

another, I would

group it with the damascena absolutes I have smelled.

For some perspective, I have perhaps smelled a couple of dozen rose absolute

samples in

my life and no more, so I can't claim to have much perspective.