Iris in Perfumery: The Rhizome, Not the Flower
In perfumery, the term "iris" refers exclusively to raw materials extracted from the rhizome (underground stem) of the iris plant — not from its flower. This distinction is fundamental to understanding the Franciris® competition.
Orris: 6–9 Year Cycle
- 3–4 years field growth, then 3–5 years drying
- Irones form during drying via oxidative degradation of iridals
- Yield: 1 tonne fresh → 100 kg dry → 2 kg orris butter
- Price: €8,000–100,000+/kg depending on grade
- Profile: powdery, violet, buttery, earthy, suede
- Key species: I. pallida (Tuscany), I. germanica (Morocco)
- Industry: Biolandes, DSM-Firmenich, Givaudan
Volatile Emissions Only
- Zero irones detected in flower emissions
- Low olfactory intensity compared to rhizome
- Common terpenes & alcohols (linalool, citronellol, geraniol)
- No headspace technology has produced a commercial product
- 219 volatile compounds identified (Yuan et al., 2019)
- 6 distinct olfactory groups by cluster analysis
- This floral scent is what Franciris® evaluates
Orris butter pricing by grade:
| Material | Irone Content | Price 2024–2025 (€/kg) |
|---|---|---|
| Standard orris butter | 8% | 8,000 – 12,000 |
| Premium orris butter | 10–15% | 10,000 – 25,000 |
| Prestige orris butter (I. pallida, Tuscany) | 20%+ | 40,000 – 100,000+ |
| Orris absolute | 55–85% | 40,000 – 100,000+ |
Three irone isomers coexist in these materials: cis-α-irone (fruity, raspberry, woody), β-irone (earthy, leathery, anisic), and cis-γ-irone (green, violet, transparent). I. pallida is dominated by cis-γ-irone (~60%), I. germanica by cis-α-irone (~60%).
The iris flower is not extracted for perfumery. Reasons: complete absence of irones in floral emissions, low olfactory intensity, chemical composition of common terpenes and alcohols available at lower cost from other botanical sources, and over 3,000 years of established infrastructure around the rhizome. No headspace technology (IFF Living Flower™, Givaudan ScentTrek™, Firmenich NaturePrint™) has yielded a commercial "iris flower" product.
However, the iris flower can be scented. Yuan et al. (Molecules, 2019) demonstrated that flowers from 27 bearded iris accessions emit 219 volatile compounds identified by HS-SPME/GC-MS, organized into 6 distinct olfactory groups (sweet, citrus, woody, rosy, spicy-cinnamon, spicy-peppery). These floral profiles are entirely different from rhizome profiles: no irones, but linalool (12–35%), β-caryophyllene (up to 54%), citronellol (24–34%), and methyl cinnamate (23–34%). It is this floral fragrance — perceptible in the garden but industrially unexploited — that the Franciris® competition evaluates.
The Franciris®: Institutional Framework
The Franciris® is a biennial international iris competition organized by the Société Française des Iris et plantes Bulbeuses (SFIB) since 2000, at the initiative of Sylvain Ruaud. It has been held at the Parc Floral de Paris (Vincennes) since 2015. Its defining characteristic: it is the only international iris competition with a dedicated floral fragrance prize.
In 2015, the perfume prize was for the first time awarded by the Société Française des Parfumeurs (SFP), an association of approximately 600 industry professionals (perfumers, evaluators, formulators). This involvement of the SFP gave the prize a technical legitimacy directly rooted in the perfume industry. However, this SFP sponsorship occurred only in 2015; subsequent editions (2017, 2019, 2022, 2024) did not benefit from comparable institutional sponsoring from the perfume industry.
A unique prize, insufficiently supported. The Franciris® is, to date, the only international iris competition in the world to award a dedicated flower fragrance prize. No other iris competition — neither the AIS (American Iris Society), nor the BIS (British Iris Society), nor the Florence trials — formally evaluates floral scent as an autonomous criterion with a specialized jury. This singularity would deserve sustained support from the perfume industry (fragrance houses, iris raw material suppliers) and perfumery schools (ISIPCA, ESP, Grasse Institute of Perfumery, etc.), which could find in it a unique observation ground for iris flower volatiles in their living state.
A lever for olfactory hybridization. The very existence of this prize encourages hybridizers to incorporate fragrance as a selection criterion in their breeding programs — not just form, color, or vigor. As long as the Franciris® maintains its perfume prize, it constitutes a concrete incentive for breeders to hybridize for scent — an objective that remains marginal in the international iris community, where the vast majority of breeding programs prioritize visual characteristics.
The competition therefore evaluates the fragrance of the living flower, making it a unique object: it judges an olfactory property (floral volatiles) that is distinct from the raw material used in perfumery (rhizome irones). This duality — scented flower in the garden, scented rhizome in the bottle — forms the framework of this article.
Next edition: May 18–22, 2026, Parc Floral de Paris.
Organoleptic Evaluation Protocol
Since 2015, the perfumery jury applies a standardized evaluation protocol:
Conditions
| Parameter | Standard |
|---|---|
| Time | 9:00–11:00 AM |
| Temperature | 20–22°C |
| Humidity | 50–60% |
| Personal fragrances | Prohibited |
| Inter-evaluation rest | 30–60 seconds |
Five Criteria, Scored on 5 Points Each
| Criterion | Definition |
|---|---|
| Intensity | Perceivable strength at 30 cm distance |
| Quality | Pleasant, harmonious character |
| Complexity | Richness of the olfactory palette |
| Persistence | Duration over time |
| Originality | Uniqueness compared to known cultivars |
This protocol is aligned with raw material evaluation practices in perfumery laboratories (Givaudan, Firmenich, IFF, Symrise).
Perfume Prize Laureates (2000–2024)
| Year | Winning Cultivar | Hybridizer | Country | Documented Olfactory Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 'Mer Du Sud' | Cayeux | 🇫🇷France | Sweet floral |
| 2005 | 'Pretty Edgy' | Barry Blyth | 🇦🇺Australia | Not documented |
| 2007 | 'Arcobaleno' | Luigi Mostosi | 🇮🇹Italy | Not documented |
| 2011 | Seedling 060402 | Jean-Claude Jacob | 🇫🇷France | Not documented |
| 2015 | 'Cielo Alto' (SFP prize) | Angelo Garanzini | 🇮🇹Italy | Lily, jasmine |
| 2017 | Seedling 10-71-GR3 | Alain Chapelle | 🇫🇷France | Not documented |
| 2019 | 'Fragrance Des Sables' | Nicolas Bourdillon | 🇫🇷France | Pronounced sweet |
| 2022 | 'Parfum Parisien' | Lorena Montanari | 🇮🇹Italy | Not documented |
| 2024 | 'Rose De Porcelaine' | — | — | Not documented |
Documented olfactory profiles: Of the 3 editions where the scent note is recorded, 2 fall within the sweet register (linalool, Group 1 per Yuan et al.), and 1 within a complex floral register (lily-jasmine).
Scientific Basis: The 6 Olfactory Groups of Iris (Yuan et al., 2019)
The study by Yuan et al. (Molecules, 2019) identified 219 volatile compounds in flowers from 27 bearded iris accessions (I. germanica, I. pallida, I. pumila) using HS-SPME/GC-MS analysis. Hierarchical cluster analysis yielded 6 olfactory groups, each dominated by a single compound:
| Group | Dominant Compound | Concentration | Sensory Profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Linalool | 12–35% | Sweet, floral, lily of the valley |
| 2 | Citronellyl acetate | Variable | Lemon, fresh fruity |
| 3 | Thujopsenene | 17–22% | Woody, cedar |
| 4 | Citronellol | 24–34% | Rose, strawberry |
| 5 | Methyl cinnamate | 23–34% | Cinnamon, spicy, balsamic |
| 6 | β-Caryophyllene | 25–52% | Spicy, clove, peppery |
Four additional profiles complete the classification: musky (methyl myristate), root beer (isosafrol/safrol), chocolate (phenylacetaldehyde + ionones), and grape (methyl anthranilate).
Technical note: These compounds originate from the flowers and are entirely distinct from the irones produced by rhizomes after 3–5 years of drying. Irones (cis-α-irone, β-irone, cis-γ-irone) constitute the raw material used in perfumery as orris butter (€8,000–100,000/kg) or orris absolute (€40,000–100,000+/kg). The Franciris® competition evaluates floral volatiles, not irones.
Correspondences Between Iris Olfactory Groups and BTSO Perfumes
The volatile compounds emitted by iris flowers in the garden are molecules also found in numerous perfumery compositions. The following correspondences map olfactory profiles identified by Yuan et al., cultivars awarded or referenced at the Franciris, and BORNTOSTANDOUT® creations that use the same molecular families in their formulations.
These correspondences are based on documented chemical kinship: the same molecule (or molecular family) is present in the living iris flower and in the perfume formulation. They do not mean that BTSO perfumes contain iris flower extract, but that both share a common molecular vocabulary.
5.1 — Direct Correspondences (Franciris-Awarded Cultivars)
| Awarded Cultivar | Year | Note | Yuan Group | Key Molecule | BTSO Perfume | Shared Molecule in Perfume |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 'Mer Du Sud' | 2000 | Sweet floral | Gr.1 | Linalool | Sugar Addict | Ethyl maltol, vanillin — same sweet register |
| 'Fragrance Des Sables' | 2019 | Pronounced sweet | Gr.1 | Linalool | Sugar Addict | Idem |
| 'Cielo Alto' | 2015 | Lily, jasmine | Complex floral | Linalool + esters | Gold Juice | Lactones, white floral notes |