Probably for 99% of the population, it's a hopeless task. I'm sure if you work in the industry of fragrance and are talking to people in that industry you have a better shot at finding words for what you smell, but I doubt many of us will. For one thing you have to have a point of reference. Most of us have never had a chance to smell the plants you listed so right there we have a problem.

I remember the days before I had a Sharry Baby and kept on hearing all these discussions about the scent. Almost everyone described it as something to do with chocolate. I LOVE chocolate and couldn't wait to own one of these plants. I finally got two of them and watched those spikes grow and grow and the buds form and then finally open. Chocolate?? How on earth did people smell that I thought? I sure didn't.

Recently my Epi difforme bloomed again, but this time it was in the house. I stuck my nose in the flowers to see if there was a scent and the first thing I thought was CONDOM. Yup, that's what it smelt like to me. I kept checking and kept on coming up with that description.

A very, very subjective topic IMO, but good luck.

Kevin

I've noticed the age of the plant has something to do with fragrance. The younger they are the less fragrance they seem to have. It takes a few bloom seasons to get the full fragrance. Plants are being sold very young.

Kevin makes a good point about subjectivity. I wonder if the pro's are giving any thought to fragrance as they furiously pump them out to market. Sharry Baby is a mass-produced orchid. Common; as some call it. 2 colour, bi-colour, sweet fragrance, but they all claim to smell like white chocolate. No one seems to agree on SB's fragrance. Maybe at one time it smelled like sugar or chocolate? Maybe form, colour, ease of growth and production won out over keeping fragrance true? I wonder if the plant is in less demand, will the true fragrance be retained?

Neofinatia falcata is newer to mass production. Most can agree that it's fragrance is that of vanilla/almond. In time will it be like Sharry Baby, spurned by some for it's fragrance? Will people be posting 5 years from now saying that falcata smells like a dirty diaper pail?

Clara

Sorry for my second post, but I find this topic very interesting. I don't think the above list of suggested adjectives would work since I suspect most people instinctively want to describe scents by comparing them to something already familiar: coconut, raspberry, etc. The above list is therefore a bit vague. A term like sugary just doesn't go far enough. Most people would probably want to take it a step farther and compare it to a very specific, sugary substance like candy or honey or whatever in hopes of giving a more specific idea of what the scent is all about.

As already stated, every nose is different and untrained for the most part and may only pick up on certain components of a scent since most are very complex. I may smell lemon, but Clara might pick up on some floral overtones.

If you did want to pursue a descriptive list of adjectives I would keep it very simple: very stinky, kind of stinky, pleasant, very pleasant. Even with only those four, I can still see potential debate about pleasant and very pleasant. I think more people would probably agree on what is considered stinky, but less agreeable about what is considered pleasant.

Here's something else I've always wondered about: Do the blind talk about colors? If yes, how do they describe them?

K

When my kids were young I took them to Hershey Park in Penn. The whole place smelled like chocolate. How wonderful it was to smell chocolate all day long. By the next day, I started feeling nauseous. I could not stand that smell anymore.
That's how SB smells to me. A sickening 'sort of' chocolate smell which over-powers.

I think intensity creates the biggest problem. No matter how lovely the fragrance, if it is too strong, it can turn you off. I love the smell of my little Lady of the Night. But in a small room, I can't take it for long. The smell is lovely, but from a distance and with the windows open.

Jane

I don't agree that describing scent is " an impossible task" (Aachenelf). If I had I wouldn't have written the article. I do think it is difficult for a number of people, which is why I made a few suggestions. Scent is not regarded highly in the list of senses, yet it remains very important.

It's an interesting question, namely, do scents smell different to each person, or are the various "same" plants possible different smelling from each other? Or, are we just too much the amateur at smelling that we can't define the nuanced differences as well as an expert (it's certainly that way with wine - generally speaking, people who can't taste the difference between a good wine and a bad wine, at least in my experience, haven't had the same experience in tasting wine as people who can tell the difference. But, there's also something to the individual palate as well - some people are certainly more sensitive to some tastes than others (take hot spicy food, for example). So it's possible that people are more sensitive to smells - I know I'm like a walking mildew detector in food, long before others taste and smell it.

As for the orchids, I have literally smelled an orchid that had a scent that others have not smelled. It was a very slight fragrance, but it was there quite clearly. I'd love to get a group of people together and have them all smell something like sharry baby and then see if they all think it has the same scent - so as to knock out the possibility that there are different smells to different Sharry Babys. I have heard some people say that the original sweet fragrance plant, before it was super cloned, had a different smell, or a stronger smell. I have an SB I got from Home Depot and one I got from some Hawaiian vendor, I think, and the home depot one absolutely looks different than the other. The Hawaiian one can take less sun, is overall a lighter color, and the leaves are FAR more crinkly and stiff. I've had both plants for several years now, it's weird how different they are from each other. I was at some greenhouse and the owner told me the sharry baby they had was one of the original sweet fragrances, going back before massive cloning. The plant looked more like my Hawaii SB, the lighter color and more crinkly harder leaves. Who knows.

ifraser wrote "Scent is not regarded highly in the list of senses..."
I would have to strongly disagree. All other things being equal, I would choose a scented orchid over a larger, gaudier one any day; perhaps that is why I prefer the species, they seem to be almost universally scented.
Additionally, I think that one person's perfume can be, absolutely, another person's stench - witness the long string of comments on Onc. Twinkle in this forum. To me, Sharry Baby has an unbearably cloying smell; it will never enter my home.
Ctsm. expansum, OTOH: eucalyptus /neroli in the a.m., citronella/mothball/iguana poop in the afternoon - all, though, pleasant to me.
And 'citrus' - grapefruit, lemon, orange, satsuma, lime, kumquat, calamondin? All very, very distinct from one another, and immediately individually identifiable. So, while catchall terms are somewhat useful, since all of these are, in fact, citrus, this is not really a 'descriptive' term, at least to me. Describing a scent as having 'citrus' notes only gives a very vague idea of this perfume component.
Holst's book on Catasetums has a chapter devoted to the scents of these flowers; it is pretty interesting. The components are delineated scientifically into a half-dozen or so different esters, and all of the flowers are said to contain a combination of these - which still doesn't help to describe the changes in perfumes that occurs over the course of a day, or the life of a flower; nor the relative appeal of any of these.
Personally, I find it much more useful and accurate to try to delineate components by familiar elements: vanilla, WD-40, baby powder, etc. - you do know *exactly* what these all smell like, no? Whereas, 'pleasant' to you might be 'whorish' to me.
Regards - Nancy

Interesting topic, ifraser.

While I do salute your ambition, I must agree with some of the other posters that subjectivity can play a significant role & prove to be a real obstacle. Take for instance your descriptor

FISHY Cirrhopetalum ornatissimum

I have C. ornatissimum. A friend of mine would agree with your scent description of "fishy". However, I would not. To me and my sister, it smells rather like melon. From several other people I received several more very different descriptors. Who is "right"? Each of us is correct, based on our own senses. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult to develop a "universally" accepted labeling method for scents.

As for "Scent is not regarded highly in the list of senses..." I think that again is somewhat subjecive -- having something to do with personal preferences as well as cultural preferences. For instance, in Japan, scent is a category for judging while it is not in the US. Furthermore, I do know folks who like strong fragrances/perfumes. Myself? Those self same perfumes literally give me a headache. I do not find anything 'pleasant' or 'enjoyable' about them. So again rather subjective.

Still, an interesting topic, ifraser.

I did say I didn't consider this list to be complete and I certainly never intended it to be either prescriptive or exclusive. There are, I'm sure, many other adjectives than can be used to describe smell, though interestingly nobody has yet suggested any.
On the question of subjectivity I am the first to admit that what is one man's meat is another man's poison and that descriptions of scent may vary wildly. There is still a wide degree of consensus, however. Nearly everyone describes the scent of Sharry Baby as "sweet" though some go beyond and say it is cloying.This is where personal taste comes in as well as the vagaries of our olfactory organ. No-one, I think, with normal senses would describe it as rank or aromatic, however.
I agree very much with those of you who said that it is also a question of training. Just as with any underused organ of the body, frequent exercise will undoubtedly improve its performance and by making a joint effort we can also improve the performance of the team - if Gardenweb may be considered such!
Very interestingly nobody has argued with my choice of the "perfect" scent. I expected that to stir up more controversy than anything!

Where does the vanilla scent fit in?

Perfect for me is Anguloa Dubia, Neofinetia falcata. I wish the fragrance was a little stronger on the Dubia, Lilac and the colours violet & pink is how I can best describe it.

Clara

'Vanilla' would fit in with " describing a scent by comparing it with another"...the list of possibilities is endless. The problem arises when you get a scent that is not like any other or appears to be a blend, of course. You should read some wine connoisseur's comments. I read one that went something like this: " a rich and fragrant bouquet, chocolate and rasperries with overtones of tobacco and cinnamon". Now there's a description! I have no idea what it would be like, however! To me wine smells like wine :-)

My Twinkie-Stinky is in full bloom. It is a Twinkle Sharry Baby. The scent is difficult to describe - sort of a cross between dusty-closet + stale, old chocolate.

Luckily, the scent is not strong. But if you sit near it, you get an urge to start cleaning.

Pretty little plant, will be going up for sale.

Jane

It surprises me that such an active orchid forum thread about scent has not included a single mention of Cattleya walkeriana. Maybe thats because not everyone else has such a high regard for my personal favorite.

To me, a walkeriana flower has one of the worlds most beautiful fragrances. Its beyond pleasing. Its a sensual experience. Its intoxicating and addictive. A long, deep whiff both gratifies and arouses desire for more as it stimulates the mind, body, and spirit. When I have a walkeriana in bloom, I can hardly stay away from it.

But when one flowers at our house and begins to emit the scent I love so much, my wife has a different reaction: "Oh, its the stinky kind." "Too bad such a pretty flower has to smell like that." "Too strong." "Pungent." "Blah, blah" Her sister also gave a negative response when I had her smell one. At first, I thought it was a genetic anomaly in their olfactory systems. Maybe a defect that runs in the family. Since then, I have learned this isnt the case. Some people just dont like it.

Most simply put, C. walkerianas fragrance is sweet and spicy. And here are more personally meaningful descriptions submitted by two who have sniffed it:

1. Some old ladys stale perfume
2. Heaven on Earth

I'm afraid I have to agree with your "opponents", Anglo. Catt. walkeriana is definitely "granny's perfume". It's strange, isn't it, how a number of people use the same epithets to describe scent, even though they are far from scientific.I'm sure this is good evidence that we do indeed have a shared memory bank as far as scents go and that it is possible to describe them in words, if difficult.