- Latin name
- Ferula gummosa
- Family
- Carrot family (Apiaceae)
- Origin
- Iran
- Parts used
- gum resin from cuts in the stems and roots
- Raw materials
- essential oil, resinoid
- Extraction
- steam distillation or extraction of the resin
- Olfactory group
- green
- Position in the pyramid
- top and heart
- Synthetic substitutes
- Galbanone, pyrazines with a green smell
Galbanum is the resin of a tall plant of the carrot family (a relative of dill and fennel) that grows in the mountains of Iran. A milky sap seeps from cuts in the stem and hardens into a yellowish resin with a very strong smell.
How it smells: intensely green, bitter and sharp, like a snapped juicy stem, fresh green pepper, peas and pine. Galbanum is one of the most powerful green notes: even a drop changes the whole fragrance.
It was galbanum that turned green fragrances into a family of their own: in the mid-twentieth century famous compositions appeared in which it sounded at full strength, and ever since it has given perfumes the feel of fresh spring grass and cool elegance.
What it pairs with: with iris and violet leaf — cool green elegance, with hyacinth and narcissus — spring compositions, with bergamot and oakmoss — green chypres, with incense — resinous freshness, with jasmine — a “green” jasmine.
Good to know: galbanum is mentioned in the Bible among the ingredients of the holy incense — it has been in use for more than two thousand years.
Fragrances with Galbanum
