- Latin name
- Cyperus scariosus
- Family
- Sedge family (Cyperaceae)
- Origin
- India
- Parts used
- rhizomes
- Raw materials
- essential oil
- Extraction
- steam distillation of the rhizomes
- Olfactory group
- woody (earthy-smoky)
- Position in the pyramid
- base
- Synthetic substitutes
- woody-leathery oud bases
Cypriol (nagarmotha) is a marsh grass of the sedge family that grows in India. As with vetiver, it is not the leaves that smell but the rhizomes: they are dried and distilled into a dark, thick oil.
How it smells: earthy, woody and smoky, with a leathery, faintly animalic and spicy shade. Cypriol recalls vetiver, patchouli and oud all at once — dark, warm and a little mysterious.
Perfumers value cypriol as a building block for the oud accord: natural oud is extremely expensive, and cypriol gives a similar earthy-leathery sound. So it often sits in the base of oud and oriental compositions.
What it pairs with: with oud and saffron — oriental classics, with rose — the “dark rose”, with vetiver and patchouli — earthy woody fragrances, with leather and tobacco — smoky evening compositions, with incense — resinous depth.
Good to know: in India cypriol has been used in traditional aromatic attar oils for centuries, long before the oud fashion in Western niche perfumery.
Fragrances with Cypriol (Nagarmotha)
