Last week, I got the chance to visit a Quail Botanical Gardens, near San Diego, California, and smell and enjoy, and take lots of pictures.
One of my favorite flowers to enjoy is the Brugmansia, with several varieties… I’ve been working on a Brugmanisa Accord for several years, since there really isn’t an extraction of it. I have seen somebody making a real extraction, but I seriously worry about putting that on your skin, since it is a rather dangerous plant to use in any concentrated manner, like in Perfumery, Clipped from Wikipedia:
” All parts of Brugmansia are poisonous, with the seeds and leaves being especially dangerous. Brugmansia are rich in Scopolamine (hyoscine), hyoscyamine, and several other tropane alkaloids.[22] Effects of ingestion can include paralysis of smooth muscles, confusion, tachycardia, dry mouth, diarrhea, migraine headaches, visual and auditory hallucinations, mydriasis, rapid onsetcycloplegia, and death.
The hallucinogenic effects of Brugmansia were described in the journal Pathology as “terrifying rather than pleasurable”.
Some municipalities prohibit the purchase, sale, or cultivation of Brugmansia plants.[2][28]
In 1994, 112 teenagers were admitted to hospitals from ingesting Brugmansia in Florida alone.”
Nonetheless, the odor profile is really wonderful, and I enjoy smelling them whenever I encounter them, and my Brugmansia accord is coming along nicely…
Also, I really enjoyed the California plants part of the garden, and while I was taking pictures of an Orchid tree, I heard a loud exclamation, “WOW! That flower smells just like Chocolate!” So of Course, I had to find and smell the Chocolate Flower Too!
Also the Fragrant Lilac Verbena,
And the Violet Honey Myrtle
