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On the slodes shrouded in mists, on the mineral tepuis emerging from the clouds, mysterious plants with unknown scents are growing. Mosses, flowers, sometimes simple stems, the scents of which mix together with those of the stones… Up there, any species, even perfectly inert, give off a fragrance.
About fifteen years ago, an American scientist of Indian origin, Director of Research by IFF, devised a revolutionary method to " capture " the scents. This method, called " headspace ", takes this observation as its starting point : when we cut a plant to extract its essence, a natural decomposition phenomenon appears. The scent inevitably alters. Doctor Braja. D. Mookjerhee found a solution to place the flower temporarily under a cloche, without cutting it, during the time needed to extract its scent. Perfected by IFF, this technology to observe the living is now widely used. In New York, IFF has also an enormous glasshouse where all the climates of the planet are reproduced, which makes it possible for the scientists to observe some processes specific to the evolution and the transformation of the scents. |
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A chemist and a young woman, working as a " nose " by IFF, accompanied the expedition on the tepuis and at the heart of the forests of clouds. They were carrying a small laboratory.First step : find the plants with interesting scents. Then breathe them all day long, in order to find the moments when the flavours are the most interesting. Choose the ideal time to bring the glasscloche. Put it as a corolla on the flower. Connect up the pipe transmitting the scents to the computer, which analyses all the chemical particles given off.The computer " scanns " the whole within one or two hours, without any loss. And of course without damaging the flower.
The information collected this way will be useful to the perfumers. They constitute above all an incredible and magical scent bank, based on naturalistic explorations as well as on human emotions. |
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Première étape : repérer les végétaux aux odeurs intéressantes. Puis les respirer tout au long de la journée, pour repérer les moments où les effluves sont les plus intéressantes. Choisir l’heure -ou les heuresidéales- pour apporter la cloche en verre. Poser celle-ci en corolle au-dessus de la fleur. Brancher le tuyau de transmission des odeurs à l’ordinateur, qui analyse l’intégralité des particules chimiques émises.L’ordinateur " scanne " le tout en une ou deux heures, sans aucune déperdition. Et bien sûr, sans abîmer la fleur. Les informations ainsi recueillies pourront servir aux parfumeurs. Elles constituent surtout une incroyable et magique banque de données olfactives, basée autant sur des explorations naturalistes que sur des émotions humaines. |
Neblina
Pelagos
