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?
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.