An archaeology news item this morning caught my attention. It's about the ancient perfume industry (~5000 years ago! to the present) in Cyprus. While I'm not interested in perfume, native, aromatic herbs of Cyprus may offer a clue about the random fragrances from "scrap" cuttings likely used in manufacturing Latakia there.
"What appears to have distinguished the Cypriot fragrances was the quality of the rich olive oil in which the ancient perfumers captured the musky scent of indigenous
oak moss, citrusy
bergamot and labdanum or
rockrose."
Before Cyprus gained fame as the mythical birthplace of the goddess of love Aphrodite nearly three millennia ago, Cyprus was known around the Mediterranean for its perfumes, scents that the mighty queens of Egypt coveted.
phys.org
Rock Rose (Cistus ladanifer or Cistus creticus):
"Labdanum... The raw resin is usually extracted by boiling the leaves and twigs.
Labdanum's odour is variously described as amber, animalic, sweet, fruity, woody, ambergris, dry musk, or leathery."
en.wikipedia.org
"Vigorous dense upright shrub reaching 5 to 6 feet tall and slightly narrower than wide with sticky slender lance-shaped dark green leaves that are grayish on the undersides and fragrant in the heat of summer. This species holds the largest flowers of the genus and is considered by some the most beautiful. Each flower is solitary but measures 3 to 4 inches in diameter with bright white petals with a bold red spot at the base, which gives rise to the common name."
San Marcos Growers Information on plants grown at the nursery.
www.smgrowers.com
Rock Rose
Bergamot (Citrus bergamia):
Also known as "sour orange".
Bergamot
Oak Moss (Evernia prunastri):
"Evernia prunastri, also known as oakmoss, is a species of lichen. It can be found in many mountainous temperate forests throughout the Northern Hemisphere, including parts of France, Portugal, Spain, North America, and much of Central Europe. Oakmoss grows primarily on the trunk and branches of oak trees, but is also commonly found on the bark of other deciduous trees and conifers such as fir and pine. The thalli of oakmoss are short (3–4 cm in length) and bushy, and grow together on bark to form large clumps. Oakmoss thallus is flat and strap-like. They are also highly branched, resembling the form of deer antlers. The colour of oakmoss ranges from green to a greenish-white when dry, and dark olive-green to yellow-green when wet. The texture of the thalli are rough when dry and rubbery when wet."
en.wikipedia.org
Oak Moss lichen
The olive oil is definitely a NO for Latakia. Probably also bergamot is not in the Latakia smoke, since I have never noted a citrus aroma. But the other two, Rock Rose and Oak Moss seem like candidates.
I believe I've seen oak moss growing on nearby trees. I'll have to check. Rock Rose (
Cistus ladanifer) is available for sale in nurseries on the US west coast (throughout California, Oregon, Washington) and British Columbia, when ordered through San Marcos Growers in Santa Barbara.
Bob