Musk flower loses its scent

Discussion in 'Plants: Science and Cultivation' started by flourish, Jan 3, 2007.

  1. flourish

    flourish Member

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    Here is a bit of a curly one.
    I was talking to my mother the other day about plants and fragrances when she bought up this story about a strongly scented musk flower losing it scent all around the time of the first world war. It seemed a strange yet poetic thing for a plant to do. I was wondering what the truth is. I cant seem to find any info on the net as I dont know the botanical name for this plant. She told me it had yellow flowers and was a perennial herb. Can anyone help?
     
  2. TonyR

    TonyR Active Member

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    Musk flower is Mimulus moschatus. This story has been around for a long time. I seem to recall it being the subject of a "Ripley's believe it or not" maybe 30 years ago. Try googling on "mimulus moschatus" + scent and you'll find plenty of stuff.
     
  3. flourish

    flourish Member

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    Thank you so much Tony, looking forward to having a look at this this evening.
     

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