Mimosa: the Australian wattle that bloomed in Grasse

Where does mimosa come from?

Perfumers' mimosa is Acacia dealbata, also called silver wattle or blue wattle, endemic to south-eastern mainland Australia and widely introduced in Mediterranean and warm temperate landscapes. As the botanical profile of Acacia dealbata notes, the florist trade sells its flowering shoots as mimosa, and the essence of the flowers, called mimosa or, in older texts, cassie, is used in perfumes.

In France, mimosa became part of the Grasse story. The history of Grasse lists wild mimosa among the rare local scents, with lavender, myrtle, jasmine, rose and orange blossom, that won the town its title of perfume capital of the world. The Class on Grasse, perfume capital follows that heritage.

How is mimosa absolute made?

Mimosa flowers are very fragile. They were first processed by cold enfleurage, which gave a concrete and then an absolute; today the same result comes from volatile solvents such as hexane or ethanol. The Class on how fragrance is extracted explains each step.

What does mimosa do in a fragrance?

Mimosa sits in the florals family. Its essence works mainly as a modifier in floral accords built on rose and jasmine. Older texts sometimes call it cassie, the name also given to the perfume distilled from the flowers of sweet acacia (Vachellia farnesiana), a related shrub widely used in European perfumery.

What should you know about mimosa?

Botanical names trip people up: perfumers' mimosa belongs to the genus Acacia, not to the genus Mimosa. Outside gardens, Acacia dealbata is listed as an invasive species in Portugal and Spain and classed as an environmental weed in New Zealand. In Italy, Albania, Russia and Georgia, its flowers are often given to women on International Women's Day.