- Latin name
- Artemisia pallens
- Family
- Daisy family (Asteraceae)
- Origin
- southern India (Karnataka)
- Parts used
- flowering herb
- Raw materials
- essential oil
- Extraction
- steam distillation
- Olfactory group
- fruity (heady-fruity), aromatic
- Position in the pyramid
- heart
- Synthetic substitutes
- fruity rum bases
Davana is a small silvery-green herb of the daisy family, a relative of wormwood. It is grown mainly in southern India, and the whole flowering plant is distilled for oil.
How it smells: unusually for a herb — fruity and heady: apricot, plum, dried fruit, rum and a faint herbal bitterness. Davana sounds warm, juicy and a little mysterious.
Perfumers use davana to add a “boozy fruit” to a fragrance — the depth of dried fruit and the warmth of alcohol without any actual alcohol. It works beautifully in leather, tobacco and gourmand compositions.
What it pairs with: with tobacco and rum — cosy evening fragrances, with osmanthus — apricot-leathery ones, with rose — a fruity spiced rose, with vanilla and benzoin — warm sweet ones, with oud — oriental fruity compositions.
Good to know: davana is said to smell different on different people — fruitier or more herbal — which is why it is often called a “personal” note.
Fragrances with Davana
