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Calla Lily

Q: Is Calla Lily natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: No extraction exists. Zantedeschia produces negligible volatile compounds. Entirely synthetic..

FLOWERS / floral · fresh · creamy

Calla Lily

Category	FLOWERS
Subcategory	floral · fresh · creamy
Origin
Volatility	Heart Note
Botanical	Zantedeschia
Appearance	Colorless to pale yellow liquid
Odor Strength	Medium
Producing Countries	South Africa, New Zealand, Netherlands
Pyramid	Heart

Almost scentless, slightly green, faintly chalky. Calla lilies are visual drama with olfactory silence — the perfumery note imagines what that elegance might smell like.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Near-absent in nature. The fantasy: clean, cool, architectural white florality. Chalky-mineral, green stem note. Less sweet than any actual white flower — visual elegance translated into scent. Cool, spatial, restrained.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Clean, cool, barely-there white florality, mineral

After a few hours

Transparent, spatial, white musk quality

After a few days

Almost nothing — clean skin, faint chalky trace

The Full Story

Calla lily (Zantedeschia aethiopica) — not a true lily — is famous for architectural beauty and nearly complete lack of fragrance. The white spathe has almost no scent; what exists is faint, green, slightly chalky.

No perfumery extraction exists. The fantasy accord translates visual elegance into scent: clean, white, architectural, minimal. White linen, a single stem in a modernist vase, cool marble. Restraint and geometry rather than abundance.

Uses clean, minimal floral elements (hedione, muguet bases), white musks, and chalky/mineral notes. Should feel sculpted rather than organic.

Native to southern Africa, the 'flower' is actually a spathe — a modified leaf — surrounding a central spadix of tiny true flowers.

This note in Première Peau. Nuit Elastique · Rose Monotone. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

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Related: Arum Lily · Biomuguet · Crinum Lily · Daylily · Fire Lily · Florhydral · Hydroxycitronellal · Lily

Did You Know?

Did you know?

All parts of calla lily contain calcium oxalate crystals — microscopic needles (raphides) that cause intense burning and swelling if ingested. These literal tiny daggers are bundled inside plant cells as defense against herbivores.

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: No extraction exists. Zantedeschia produces negligible volatile compounds. Entirely synthetic.

Molecular Formula	N/A — no distillable oil commercially available
CAS Number	N/A — no commercial essential oil (ornamental flower)
Botanical Name	Zantedeschia
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Synonyms	ARUM LILY · TRUMPET LILY
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	Medium
Appearance	Colorless to pale yellow liquid
Specific Gravity	0.93000 to 0.98000 @ 25.00 °C.
Refractive Index	1.47000 to 1.52000 @ 20.00 °C.

In Perfumery

Fantasy floral providing minimalist, architectural character. No extraction exists. Built from transparent florals, white musks, mineral-chalky elements. Functions in minimalist and white-themed compositions. The restraint is the point.