The live collections @mobotgarden.bsky.social offer myriad opportunities to learn more about plants. Dr. Mónica Carlsen shared her botanical scent research in #SmellingTheBouquet @mobotmuseum.bsky.social. She conducted headspace/scent trapping to gather data about the variety of tropical plants.
September 23, 2025 at 8:34 PM
The live collections @mobotgarden.bsky.social offer myriad opportunities to learn more about plants. Dr. Mónica Carlsen shared her botanical scent research in #SmellingTheBouquet @mobotmuseum.bsky.social. She conducted headspace/scent trapping to gather data about the variety of tropical plants.
Fragrant treasures #SmellingTheBouquet
In the medieval period, pomanders became popular as a defense against plague outbreaks, offering protection from diseased air. These intricate silver & gold containers opened & held different aromatic substances rolled into a solid perfume.
In the medieval period, pomanders became popular as a defense against plague outbreaks, offering protection from diseased air. These intricate silver & gold containers opened & held different aromatic substances rolled into a solid perfume.
December 15, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Fragrant treasures #SmellingTheBouquet
In the medieval period, pomanders became popular as a defense against plague outbreaks, offering protection from diseased air. These intricate silver & gold containers opened & held different aromatic substances rolled into a solid perfume.
In the medieval period, pomanders became popular as a defense against plague outbreaks, offering protection from diseased air. These intricate silver & gold containers opened & held different aromatic substances rolled into a solid perfume.
#SmellingTheBouquet Unlike most other insects, male orchid bees (Euglossa dilemma) do not internally synthesize their own mating compounds (pheromones). Instead they collect them from the environment: oils from orchids (of course!), wood, fungus, and feces. Pix: M. Sandoval
October 15, 2025 at 3:58 PM
#SmellingTheBouquet Unlike most other insects, male orchid bees (Euglossa dilemma) do not internally synthesize their own mating compounds (pheromones). Instead they collect them from the environment: oils from orchids (of course!), wood, fungus, and feces. Pix: M. Sandoval
Learn more about @mobotmuseum.bsky.social's #SmellingTheBouquet with the curator and @mobotgarden.bsky.social's Mónica Carlsen's scent research in Colombia 👃💐
Scientists have a broad idea of the chemical compounds that make up the scent of flowers, but they can't identify what it is about those chemicals that attracts pollinators.
Missouri Botanical Garden scientist Mónica Carlsen is taking that investigation to Colombia to gather data on anthuriums.
Missouri Botanical Garden scientist Mónica Carlsen is taking that investigation to Colombia to gather data on anthuriums.
How a St. Louis scientist is decoding the ‘invisible language’ between plants and pollinators
Missouri Botanical Garden scientist Mónica Carlsen will study anthuriums in the wild this summer.
www.stlpr.org
February 20, 2026 at 9:55 PM
Learn more about @mobotmuseum.bsky.social's #SmellingTheBouquet with the curator and @mobotgarden.bsky.social's Mónica Carlsen's scent research in Colombia 👃💐
#SmellingTheBouquet Late winter/early spring in Missouri is brightened by the blooming of the inflorescences of witch hazel trees, with their brightly colored stringy petals (yellow, orange, and red) and intoxicating scents, ranging from lemon and citrus to the jasmine fragrance.
January 7, 2026 at 6:33 PM
#SmellingTheBouquet Late winter/early spring in Missouri is brightened by the blooming of the inflorescences of witch hazel trees, with their brightly colored stringy petals (yellow, orange, and red) and intoxicating scents, ranging from lemon and citrus to the jasmine fragrance.
Resin plants used for incense grow around the world. 👃💐
These are found in @mobotgarden.bsky.social Shoenberg Arid House #SmellingTheBouquet.
Abyssinian myrrh (Commiphora habessinica) is native to eastern Africa with thorns and anti-bacterial qualities; its resin is used medicinally and is edible.
These are found in @mobotgarden.bsky.social Shoenberg Arid House #SmellingTheBouquet.
Abyssinian myrrh (Commiphora habessinica) is native to eastern Africa with thorns and anti-bacterial qualities; its resin is used medicinally and is edible.
November 6, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Resin plants used for incense grow around the world. 👃💐
These are found in @mobotgarden.bsky.social Shoenberg Arid House #SmellingTheBouquet.
Abyssinian myrrh (Commiphora habessinica) is native to eastern Africa with thorns and anti-bacterial qualities; its resin is used medicinally and is edible.
These are found in @mobotgarden.bsky.social Shoenberg Arid House #SmellingTheBouquet.
Abyssinian myrrh (Commiphora habessinica) is native to eastern Africa with thorns and anti-bacterial qualities; its resin is used medicinally and is edible.
Sniff Tuberose @mobotmuseum.bsky.social & @mobotgarden.bsky.social! Tuberose gets its common name from the French tubéreuse, referencing its enlarged tubers that plants use for storing nutrients. Perfumer Weston Adam made a soliflore to sniff in the #SmellingTheBouquet exhibition.
August 1, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Sniff Tuberose @mobotmuseum.bsky.social & @mobotgarden.bsky.social! Tuberose gets its common name from the French tubéreuse, referencing its enlarged tubers that plants use for storing nutrients. Perfumer Weston Adam made a soliflore to sniff in the #SmellingTheBouquet exhibition.
#SmellingTheBouquet Vanilla comes from the fruit of the orchid Vanilla planifolia. Over 600ya, it was integral to the Totonac, Mayan & Aztec people in the plant’s native region of Mesoamerica. They practiced curing methods to enhance the aroma, making a paste to be blended with copal for incense.
February 10, 2026 at 6:34 PM
#SmellingTheBouquet Vanilla comes from the fruit of the orchid Vanilla planifolia. Over 600ya, it was integral to the Totonac, Mayan & Aztec people in the plant’s native region of Mesoamerica. They practiced curing methods to enhance the aroma, making a paste to be blended with copal for incense.
#SmellingTheBouquet Vanilla planifolia is the only orchid that bears edible fruit, and is endemic to SE Mexico & Belize. The cylindrical fruit pods containing tiny black seeds are the source of vanilla used in food and perfumery, commonly (and incorrectly) called beans. Pix: Shutterstock: Jiri Hera
February 12, 2026 at 7:02 PM
#SmellingTheBouquet Vanilla planifolia is the only orchid that bears edible fruit, and is endemic to SE Mexico & Belize. The cylindrical fruit pods containing tiny black seeds are the source of vanilla used in food and perfumery, commonly (and incorrectly) called beans. Pix: Shutterstock: Jiri Hera
#NativeAmericanHeritageMonth #SmellingTheBouquet White sage is a sacred plant for North American Indigenous tribes, used for millennia for religious & cultural purposes. Cultural appropriation of white sage by non-Native people has driven great demand of plant material, including illegal poaching.
November 26, 2025 at 8:36 PM
#NativeAmericanHeritageMonth #SmellingTheBouquet White sage is a sacred plant for North American Indigenous tribes, used for millennia for religious & cultural purposes. Cultural appropriation of white sage by non-Native people has driven great demand of plant material, including illegal poaching.
Fragrant Containers #SmellingTheBouquet The 19th-century Industrial Revolution enabled mass production of glass bottles, making perfumes accessible to a broader audience. The 20th century introduced distinctive bottle designs influenced by movements such as Art Nouveau and Art Deco.
December 17, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Fragrant Containers #SmellingTheBouquet The 19th-century Industrial Revolution enabled mass production of glass bottles, making perfumes accessible to a broader audience. The 20th century introduced distinctive bottle designs influenced by movements such as Art Nouveau and Art Deco.
Saving plants through scent: a perfumed collaboration
The Red List Project focuses on conservation of endangered plants, with direct action supported by profits generated from the sale of products based upon the scent of threatened species by Spyros Drosopoulos, Baruti perfumes. #SmellingTheBouquet
The Red List Project focuses on conservation of endangered plants, with direct action supported by profits generated from the sale of products based upon the scent of threatened species by Spyros Drosopoulos, Baruti perfumes. #SmellingTheBouquet
January 9, 2026 at 8:19 PM
Saving plants through scent: a perfumed collaboration
The Red List Project focuses on conservation of endangered plants, with direct action supported by profits generated from the sale of products based upon the scent of threatened species by Spyros Drosopoulos, Baruti perfumes. #SmellingTheBouquet
The Red List Project focuses on conservation of endangered plants, with direct action supported by profits generated from the sale of products based upon the scent of threatened species by Spyros Drosopoulos, Baruti perfumes. #SmellingTheBouquet
Alpine plants used as incense in Bhutan are also being impacted by climate change in the Himalayas. Currently on view in the #SmellingTheBouquet #PlantsAndScentsInTheGarden @mobotmuseum.bsky.social
Learn more link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Learn more link.springer.com/article/10.1...
July 8, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Alpine plants used as incense in Bhutan are also being impacted by climate change in the Himalayas. Currently on view in the #SmellingTheBouquet #PlantsAndScentsInTheGarden @mobotmuseum.bsky.social
Learn more link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Learn more link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Meet the carrion flower, Stapelia mutabilis! It is one of the scents you can sniff in the current exhibition @mobotmuseum.bsky.social #SmellingTheBouquet. It is also blooming right now @mobotgarden.bsky.social's Shoenberg Arid House! Perfumer Weston Adam interpreted its unsettlingly meaty scent.
August 29, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Meet the carrion flower, Stapelia mutabilis! It is one of the scents you can sniff in the current exhibition @mobotmuseum.bsky.social #SmellingTheBouquet. It is also blooming right now @mobotgarden.bsky.social's Shoenberg Arid House! Perfumer Weston Adam interpreted its unsettlingly meaty scent.
#SmellingTheBouquet At the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle, Tiffany & Co. exhibited a variety of their wares, including 15 scent bottles—referred to as vinaigrettes at the time. Louis Comfort Tiffany’s Art Nouveau designs were featured; his Favrile glass are identified by their iridescent surface.
December 19, 2025 at 5:28 PM
#SmellingTheBouquet At the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle, Tiffany & Co. exhibited a variety of their wares, including 15 scent bottles—referred to as vinaigrettes at the time. Louis Comfort Tiffany’s Art Nouveau designs were featured; his Favrile glass are identified by their iridescent surface.
#SmellingTheBouquet Vinegar has been an important ingredient in many folk remedies & medicines. In the 18th century, small ornate containers (vinaigrettes) were popular; these boxes had pierced lids, containing a sponge soaked with an aromatic vinegar that was sniffed when encountering a foul odor.
December 16, 2025 at 2:56 PM
#SmellingTheBouquet Vinegar has been an important ingredient in many folk remedies & medicines. In the 18th century, small ornate containers (vinaigrettes) were popular; these boxes had pierced lids, containing a sponge soaked with an aromatic vinegar that was sniffed when encountering a foul odor.
Scent trapping Madagascar plants for #SmellingTheBouquet exhibition on display from @mobotgarden.bsky.social Herbarium
Helichrysum ibityense is a small perennial herbaceous plant with white flowers that is found in dry forests, grasslands, and rocky areas in Madagascar. It has a minty fragrance.
Helichrysum ibityense is a small perennial herbaceous plant with white flowers that is found in dry forests, grasslands, and rocky areas in Madagascar. It has a minty fragrance.
January 14, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Scent trapping Madagascar plants for #SmellingTheBouquet exhibition on display from @mobotgarden.bsky.social Herbarium
Helichrysum ibityense is a small perennial herbaceous plant with white flowers that is found in dry forests, grasslands, and rocky areas in Madagascar. It has a minty fragrance.
Helichrysum ibityense is a small perennial herbaceous plant with white flowers that is found in dry forests, grasslands, and rocky areas in Madagascar. It has a minty fragrance.
#SmellingTheBouquet Copper alembic still, made in Turkey, is a 2-part vessel used to heat liquids and botanical compounds to separate the volatiles, essential oils, or distillate for use in making perfumes (steam distillation). Its name comes from the Arabic al-inbīq, meaning “cup” or “beaker.”
March 19, 2026 at 1:56 PM
#SmellingTheBouquet Copper alembic still, made in Turkey, is a 2-part vessel used to heat liquids and botanical compounds to separate the volatiles, essential oils, or distillate for use in making perfumes (steam distillation). Its name comes from the Arabic al-inbīq, meaning “cup” or “beaker.”
#SmellingTheBouquet Mayan copal (Protium copal) is endemic to Mexico and Central America. Considered sacred, copal was burned as offerings to deities in rituals. It continues to be used today for ceremonies and festivals, including Central America’s famous Días de los Muertos (Days of the Dead).
October 31, 2025 at 7:13 PM
#SmellingTheBouquet Mayan copal (Protium copal) is endemic to Mexico and Central America. Considered sacred, copal was burned as offerings to deities in rituals. It continues to be used today for ceremonies and festivals, including Central America’s famous Días de los Muertos (Days of the Dead).
#SmellingTheBouquet Gayil Nalls' WORLD SENSORIUM is a living artwork that exists not only as a sensory experience but as a far-reaching inquiry into humanity’s connection with the natural world. Pix: Virginia Harold, @mobotgarden.bsky.social Herbarium, Shutterstock: RaDoll
July 28, 2025 at 9:08 PM
#SmellingTheBouquet Gayil Nalls' WORLD SENSORIUM is a living artwork that exists not only as a sensory experience but as a far-reaching inquiry into humanity’s connection with the natural world. Pix: Virginia Harold, @mobotgarden.bsky.social Herbarium, Shutterstock: RaDoll
The Baruti scent Palermo Violet was inspired by Viola ucriana, an endangered violet that grows near Palermo, Sicily. Viola ucriana is a species known from only a single population on the slopes of Mt. Pizzuta in the Serra della Pizzuta Nature Reserve.
#SmellingTheBouquet
#SmellingTheBouquet
January 9, 2026 at 8:21 PM
The Baruti scent Palermo Violet was inspired by Viola ucriana, an endangered violet that grows near Palermo, Sicily. Viola ucriana is a species known from only a single population on the slopes of Mt. Pizzuta in the Serra della Pizzuta Nature Reserve.
#SmellingTheBouquet
#SmellingTheBouquet
On August 9, experience the scents of food and drink (but no eating or imbibing!) @mobotmuseum.bsky.social @mobotgarden.bsky.social with #SmellingTheBouquet exhibition perfumers Shawn Maher and Weston Adam, and wine educator Michael Leonardelli. www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/sachs-museum...
July 21, 2025 at 8:24 PM
On August 9, experience the scents of food and drink (but no eating or imbibing!) @mobotmuseum.bsky.social @mobotgarden.bsky.social with #SmellingTheBouquet exhibition perfumers Shawn Maher and Weston Adam, and wine educator Michael Leonardelli. www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/sachs-museum...
💐 Stop and smell the science! Our #BioanalyticalChemistryFacility is featured in the new #SmellingtheBouquet: Plants and Scents in the Garden exhibition at @mobotmuseum.bsky.social! Follow your nose to @mobotgarden.bsky.social to discover how plants’ scents influence insects, ecosystems, & people!
June 9, 2025 at 3:21 PM
💐 Stop and smell the science! Our #BioanalyticalChemistryFacility is featured in the new #SmellingtheBouquet: Plants and Scents in the Garden exhibition at @mobotmuseum.bsky.social! Follow your nose to @mobotgarden.bsky.social to discover how plants’ scents influence insects, ecosystems, & people!
#SmellingTheBouquet Part of the citrus olfactory family, bergamot essential oil has aspects of sweet orange peel combined with floral notes, lavender, and woody terpenoids. Its zesty side is complemented by its bitter, green, spicy-balsamic undertones. Pix: @mobotgarden.bsky.social Herbarium
December 11, 2025 at 4:45 PM
#SmellingTheBouquet Part of the citrus olfactory family, bergamot essential oil has aspects of sweet orange peel combined with floral notes, lavender, and woody terpenoids. Its zesty side is complemented by its bitter, green, spicy-balsamic undertones. Pix: @mobotgarden.bsky.social Herbarium
#TreeOfLife #SmellingTheBouquet Baobabs are one of the largest & oldest angiosperms (flowering plants), & are widespread across continental Africa savannas, & near the border of Yemen & Oman. Nearly all of the plant is usable: saplings, leaves, the fruit, & seed oil. Pix: Dr. Nisa Karimi
January 6, 2026 at 8:46 PM
#TreeOfLife #SmellingTheBouquet Baobabs are one of the largest & oldest angiosperms (flowering plants), & are widespread across continental Africa savannas, & near the border of Yemen & Oman. Nearly all of the plant is usable: saplings, leaves, the fruit, & seed oil. Pix: Dr. Nisa Karimi