Perfuming the Edge of the World, Part 6

(This is part six of an ongoing article about the Rumsen Carmel Ohlone Native Californians.)

Selecting Ethnobotanical Fragrance Elements

In this step I have selected the most ideal and replicable botanicals for the perfuming process and categorized them into the most likely perfume notes they will fit into. At the end of each category I have placed the additional environmental elements that could be included.

Notes de tête:
*Achillea millefolium - common yarrow
*Apium graveolens - celery/smallage
Fragaria vesca - wood strawberry
Artemisia dracunculus - dragon sagewort/tarragon
*Carex harfordii - Monterey sedge
*Carex praegracilis - clustered field sedge
*Carex tumulicola - foothill sedge
Danthonia californica - California oat-grass
*Eriogonum nudum var. auriculatum - coast buckwheat
*Eriogonum parvifolium - dune buckwheat
*Eriophyllum confertiflorum - golden yarrow
*Lepidium nitidum - common pepper-grass
*Lepidium strictum - wayside pepper-grass
Marah fabaceus - man-root/wild cucumber
*Raphanus sativus - wild radish
*Ribes sanguineum var. glutinosum - red flowering currant
*Rubus parviflorus - thimbleberry
*Rubus ursinus - California blackberry
*Sambucus mexicana - blue elderberry
*Stachys bullata - wood mint
*Vaccinium ovatum - evergreen huckleberry
Additional environmental fragrances:
Cooked grain
Fragrance of fresh cut green vegetables and grasses
Ocean
Mushroom
Ripe fruits
Fragrance of medicinal herbs

Notes de Fond:
Calochortus albus var. albus - globe lily
*Calochortus uniflorus - large-flowered star lily
*Ceanothus griseus - Carmel ceanothus
Danthonia californica - California oat-grass
*Dryopteris arguta - Calif. wood fern
Ericameria ericoides - mock heather
Fritillaria affinis - checker lily
Genista monspessulana - French broom
Geranium dissectum - cut-leaved geranium
Geranium retrorsum - New Zealand geranium
Gilia achilleifolia ssp. multicaulis - many-stemmed gilia
Gilia clivorum - gilia
*Gnaphalium californicum - California everlasting
*Gnaphalium ramosissimum - pink everlasting
Iris douglasiana - Douglas iris
*Lathyrus vestitus var. puberulus - common Pacific pea
*Lathyrus vestitus var. vestitus - San Gabriel or canyon pea
*Lonicera hispidula var. vacillans - hairy honeysuckle
Lotus purshianus var. purshianus - Spanish clover
*Lupinus albifrons var. douglasii - Douglas' silver lupine
*Lupinus arboreus - yellow bush/tree lupine
*Lupinus nanus - sky lupine/Douglas' annual lupine
*Lupinus variicolor - Lindley's varied lupine
*Pellaea mucronata var. mucronata - bird's-foot fern
Pentagramma triangularis ssp. Triangularis - goldback fern
Phacelia distans - wild heliotrope
Piperia elegans - elegant rein orchid
Polystichum munitum - sword fern
*Pteridium aquilinum var. pubescens - western bracken fern
*Rosa californica - California wild rose
*Scrophularia californica - bee plant
Selaginella bigelovii - Bigelow's moss-fern
*Trifolium barbigerum - colony clover
*Trifolium wormskioldii - cow clover/coast clover
*Urtica dioica ssp. Holosericea - hoary nettle
Woodwardia fimbriata - chain fern
Zigadenus fremontii - Fremont's star lily
Additional environmental fragrances:
Fragrance of bedding
Fragrance of blooming flowers

Notes de Base:
*Artemisia douglasiana – mugwort
*Cupressus macrocarpa - Monterey cypress
Navarretia squarrosa - skunkweed
*Pinus radiata - Monterey pine
*Salix lasiolepis - arroyo willow
*Salix scouleriana - Scouler willow
*Salvia mellifera - black sage
Salvia microphylla - smalled-leaved sage
Sequoia sempervirens - coast redwood
Additional environmental fragrances:
Smoke
Hot rocks and seashells
Tree moss
Seaweed
Loam, earth
Rain on earth
Willow branches, bark and foliage
Deerskin
Sweat

Coming next: Deciding on what fragrance family to build