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My (Imaginary) Orchid Collection

Wild Ride
A couple of weeks ago we went to hunt for wild peonies, and found many new orchids along the trail. I also spotted a few tall orchids that weren't in bloom yet, so today I went back to spot them. And I present to you the whole series. Perhaps this is not the place for this post, as non of them is fragrant. Amon gate Israeli orchids, only the Holy Orchid (Orchis sancta) that is extremely rare (and I didn't meet yet) and the Scented Orchid (which smells like dung) have smell. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

I'll start with the first orchid I met on the trail (note the many Anatolian Orchids behind it):
Cephalanthera longifolia סחלבן החורש
Cephalanthera longifolia סחלבן החורש
Orchis punctulata סחלב נקוד
Orchis galilaea סחלב הגליל
סחלב  שלוש-השיניים Orchis tridentata
Orchis tridentata סחלב  שלוש-השיניים 
Orchis anatolica סחלב אנטולי
Orchis anatolica סחלב אנטולי
This small yet impressively coloured orchid rules the slopes of Mt. Meron but still manages to look special and impressive. 
Orchis papilionacea ? סחלב פרפרני
Orchis papilionacea  סחלב פרפרני
Orchis sancta ?
Orchis papilionacea  סחלב פרפרני
This is the same as above but perhaps older and therefore less vibrant in colour.
Limodorum abortivum (Violet Limodore) שנק החורש
Limodorum abortivum (Violet Limodore) שנק החורש
This is the one I spotted about to bloom a couple of weeks ago, and came back to see today. It was already starting to dry out, but still - you can get the picture. It's a very tall orchid. Note how it compares to the rockrose (cistus) and blood helichrysum next to it:
Limodorum abortivum (Violet Limodore) שנק החורש
Ophrys umblicata דבורנית דינסמור
Ophrys umblicata דבורנית דינסמור
This last photo was not photographed on Mt. Hillel but I found another one and didn't bother to take a photo (was saving camera space for the peonies!). There are several other kinds of bee orchids in Israel, here is another one just for fun:
Early Spider Orchid (Ophrys transhyrcana) דבורנית הקטיפה
Early Spider Orchid (Ophrys transhyrcana) דבורנית הקטיפה
Ophrys holosericea (Great Bee Orchid) דבורנית גדולה
Ophrys holosericea (Great Bee Orchid) דבורנית גדולה

The following are also not found on the same site, but are part of my imaginary orchid collection nevertheless.
Anacamptis pyramidalis ?? בן-סחלב צריפי
Anacamptis pyramidalis בן-סחלב צריפי

This one is relatively common in our area (lower altitude). I think this its rhizomes are the original ingredient of the Sahleb pudding.
Mystery Orchid
This lovely one I could not for the life of me identified. Spotted in Kziv Creek reserve, along the same trail that has the Wild Lilies. I would love to learn which one it is!

 

Orchid Buds

Little flowers with big meaning

For many years, I've been trying to coax my orchids to do a rerun of their showy display of flowers. Instead, these freeloaders sit in their optimal orchid-growing corner and demand their bi-weekly attention of watering and nutrients, prayers and begging and show nothing in return aside from not letting their green leaves die (at best).

If like me you've experienced the frustration of an orchid lover's failures, that should be enough of a background story to explain my utter surprise and delight when in early December of last year, one of the orchids revealed a little stem of green buds... Two months later, and the buds have grown into blooms which are still as beautiful and seductive as ever.

This is such a memorable event that I've been not only secretly allude prophetic meaning to it (something good is going to happen soon, if it's not happening already...); but also tempted to create a new perfume inspired by it...

Sambac jasmine is one of my favourite notes among all flowers and especially white florals. It is exotic and reminds me of fragrant green tea and gardenia (both of which I adore). In previous perfumes creations I've used it either to create a gardenia effect (GiGi, Charisma, Fete d'Hiver), or as a supporting note to jasmine grandiflorum (as in Yasmin and Moon Breath). Tamya and Fetish are the only two perfumes I've created in which it plays a star role - in both I've harnessed the intoxicating sweetness of its high methyl anthranilate content to create a fruity if not almost gourmand fragrance.

In this orchid-inspired perfume, sambac jasmine is the star of the show. I've paired it with cardamom before in GiGi but here this effect is magnified and exaggerated. I was reminded of how much I enjoy this unusual combination when I was running the solid perfume workshop with my Floriental Week students. The following week I ventured into my lab and was looking for different ways to treat jasmine sambac that I have not thought about before. I played with pairing it with cool, medicinal top notes and also incorporate a material that is new to me: mandarin petitgrain. This is a petitgrain that is very rich in methyl anthranilate (also present in the sambac), but also has a cold soil and leafy qualities. To add to my challenge, I've tried to stay away from ambery notes, even though I love them and know they work with sambac jasmine. The amber base is a natural tendency of mine and sometimes I just need to try something new. In this case, I focused on musk and woods.

I've been wearing this orchid-inspired perfume for over a week now and I'm surprisingly pleased with the result... But as always, when things go smoothly on the composition front, a name for the perfume escapes me (or the one I think about turns out to have a certain connotation that I prefer to avoid).


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