Iris Pallida - An Overview

Orris Butter, Orris Concrete, or Orris Absolute come from aged Iris rhyzomes. Specifically, it typically comes from the Pallida variety which produces the sweetest and highest quality orris root. Iris Germanica and Iris Florentina also produce orris root butter, however they each have their own nuance. Iris Pallida is my favorite, so we are going to focus on that variety specifically. I was extremely disappointed that the variety had to be specific, because I have a bunch of iris growing by my mailbox and I was ready to dig them up.

The process of extracting orris butter requires a lot of patience. I mean years and years of patience. This is why it is so incredibly pricey. I’m talking one gram is about $350. The good news is that it is an incredible material that has extraordinary fixating properties and a little goes a long way. I am absolutely obsessed with it which resulted in me wanting to fully study and understand the material.

I have always been fascinated with the process of extraction from botanicals. In fact, I have spent quite a bit of time making lake pigments from botanicals. I have about 50 different colored pigments that I have created from experiments with botanical materials around my house and garden. This is where my love of fragrance came in. I was making pigments when I thought “I wonder how I can get the scent from this plant.” And then I dove in to the study of perfumery pretty intensely.

I have not yet made my own materials due to potential safety risks and I wanted to make perfumes the correct way before diving into the process of distilling my own naturals. However, after a long time of studying, I think that learning how these naturals are processed from start to finish will help me deepen my studies of the materials.

With that, I purchased two Iris Pallida rhyzomes! I plan to get them into the ground as soon as possible and then I need to wait until they multiply and grow enough to harvest. That will take 3-5 years at least. Its a process, but I get to enjoy the sweet blooms while I wait. Plus they are low maintenance. After harvest, the long process of drying and aging begins. The longer the better! But they will need at least 2 more years.