Geranium

Genus Pelargonium

Geranium smells like rose crossed with something green and minty, and it is the standard affordable stand-in for rose. Two compounds do it: citronellol at roughly a third of the oil and geraniol at half that.^[3] Push the geraniol up and you get rose geranium, closer to the real thing. In a study of patients in moderate to severe pain, inhaling geranium oil lowered their anxiety scores.^[4] The same two compounds are behind most of its action against bacteria.^[3]

Geranium

Pelargonium graveolens

Also Known As: Rose Geranium
Family: Floral
Perfumery Note: Middle
Intensity: Medium
Extraction: Steam Distillation
Plant Parts: Leaves
Origins: Egypt, China, Madagascar
Effect: Grounding & Centering, Sleep & Relaxation
Aroma: Floral, Sweet, Rosy
Applications: Diffusing & Inhalation, Skincare, Massage & Body, Perfumery & Fragrance Making
Price: $$$$A specific cultivar bred to smell more like roses; moderate yield

This is the standard geranium, grown mostly in Egypt, Reunion Island and China. Citronellol and geraniol give it the rose, and a minty green edge underneath keeps it from being a straight copy. In lab tests it stopped every clinical sample of Staphylococcus aureus it was tried against, including MRSA and strains resistant to several drugs.^[3] Those same two compounds are what do it.^[3] It also scores well at mopping up the unstable molecules that damage cells.^[4]

Rose Geranium

Pelargonium graveolens var. roseum

Also Known As: Bourbon Geranium, Rose-Scented Geranium
Family: Floral
Perfumery Note: Middle
Intensity: Medium
Extraction: Steam Distillation
Plant Parts: Leaves
Origins: Reunion Island, Madagascar, South Africa
Effect: Grounding & Centering, Energy & Uplifting
Aroma: Floral, Rosy, Sweet
Applications: Diffusing & Inhalation, Skincare, Massage & Body, Perfumery & Fragrance Making
Price: $$$$Pelargonium graveolens var. roseum is cultivated mainly in South Africa and Egypt; large plantation scale and reliable steam-distillation yields keep it among the more affordable floral oils

Rose geranium is the variety bred to smell most like an actual rose. Citronellol still leads at around two fifths of the oil, but extra geraniol and fruity esters round off the green edge.^[5] That is why it is the version used in skincare and in affordable rose blends. In dish tests it held back bacteria of both main types and stopped Candida growing completely.^[5] It also mops up the unstable molecules that damage cells better than plain geranium.^[4]

Bourbon Geranium

Pelargonium x asperum

Also Known As: Geranium Bourbon, Reunion Geranium
Family: Floral
Perfumery Note: Middle
Intensity: Medium
Extraction: Steam Distillation
Plant Parts: Leaves
Origins: Reunion Island, Madagascar
Effect: Grounding & Centering, Sleep & Relaxation
Aroma: Floral, Rosy, Green, Sweet
Applications: Diffusing & Inhalation, Skincare, Massage & Body, Perfumery & Fragrance Making
Price: $$$$Grown on Reunion Island (historically known as Ile Bourbon); the island's limited agricultural land restricts total production volume, and the Bourbon provenance commands a premium over other geranium origins

Bourbon geranium comes from Reunion Island, once called Ile Bourbon, and perfumers treat it as the finest grade. It carries more citronellol relative to geraniol than other origins, which is what gives it that clean rose quality.^[1] Isomenthone adds a minty lift that rises and falls with the altitude and the temperature of the growing season.^[1] A handful of heavier compounds found only in this origin act as its fingerprint.^[1] There is no trial evidence specific to Bourbon, only to geranium oil in general.

Egyptian Geranium

Pelargonium graveolens

Also Known As: Rose Geranium (Egypt), Geranium Egypt
Family: Floral
Perfumery Note: Middle
Intensity: Medium
Extraction: Steam Distillation
Plant Parts: Leaves
Origins: Egypt
Effect: Grounding & Centering, Energy & Uplifting
Aroma: Floral, Rosy, Sweet, Herbaceous
Applications: Diffusing & Inhalation, Skincare, Massage & Body, Perfumery & Fragrance Making
Price: $$$$Egypt is the world's largest producer of geranium oil; the high cultivation volume and competitive local labour costs make Egyptian geranium the most affordable of the named geranium origins

Egypt is one of the biggest geranium producers in the world, exporting over 250 tonnes of oil a year. Its oil runs about a quarter citronellol, with citronellyl formate adding a fruity softness the other origins have less of.^[1] The exact balance shifts with the weather, the altitude and how far into flowering the plants were when cut.^[1] In lab tests it broke up the protective films that drug-resistant bacteria build on surfaces.^[6] That is a dish finding, but a useful one for cleaning products.

Essential Nose

Geranium

Geranium

Rose Geranium

Bourbon Geranium

Egyptian Geranium

References