Orchids & Scents of Asia (focus Singapore)

​Choosing the perfect scent can be quite intimidating especially if you are buying a perfume for the first time. It is like choosing an expensive wine, you do not want to feel embarrassed by not knowing which wine goes well with the food you ordered. 

In perfumery industry, the choices are almost endless, from floral scents to sweet vanilla to musky-woody scents. This is just the initial stage, you still need to know which perfume scent is appropriate for day or night. So, for the newcomer who faced difficulties in choosing a perfume off the shelves, you can always visit Jet’aime Perfumery Workshop to explore the different scents and create your unique perfume. There are workshops conducted for couples, bridal showers, birthday parties and corporate team building and it is a place you will not want to miss out if you are fragrances lovers. With majority of ingredients coming from natives’ orchids of Singapore, it is no doubt you can create a beautiful orchids perfume in the workshop.

Orchids or floral scent are definitely a must in one’s perfume as it adds the complexity and liveliness of the perfume. Other than appreciating the looks and scents of the orchids, they can still be use for treatments. Today, we will further discuss the therapeutic benefits of orchid genus - Anacamptis Rich. There is dozen species from Anacamptis Rich are distributed in montane meadows and grasslands in the northern Iran, the Middle East and southern and central Europe. Among those, we discover 5 species that have medicinal uses.

​Anacamptis coriophora R.M.Bateman, Pridgeon & M.W. Chase

Commonly known as the bug orchid because flowers of many strains possess an unpleasant smell, this species is a widespread European species. The tubers of the plant are use in Iran to make into salep. Salep aids in digestion problems including heartburn, gas (flatulence), and indigestion.

Anacamptis laxiflora (Lam.) R.M. Bateman, Pridgeon & M.W. Chase
This plant is consider a weed species in Mediterranean as it quickly invades abandoned fields. It can be found in fens and marshy, calcareous meadows with slightly acidic to alkaline soils which are permanently wet. Many also called this plant Jersey orchids or Salep misri / shala misriri in India. The tubers of the plant are used as an expectorant, an astringent and as nourishment in India.

Anacamptis morio ssp. picta (Loisel.) Jacquet & Scaooat
This plant is normally found in dry grassland that is wet in winter and dry in summer and in soil that is either neutral or alkaline. Thus. it is a common orchid in the Catabrian Mountains of Spain, across Europe to the Middle East and Iran.
Like Anacamptis coriophora, the tubers are used in Iran as salep. However, this Anacamptis species are protected in Europe. 

Anacamptis palustris (Jacq.) R.M. Bateman, A.M. Pridgeon, M.W. Chase
Also known as Bog orchid, it is predominantly found in western Europe but can also be found in Greece, the Aegen, Turkey and Iran. The tubers are also used in Iran as salep.

Anacamptis pyramidalis (L.) A. Rich
The flowering season of this plant is during the June to July period and mostly butterflies or moths will pollinate the flowers. The species can be found across Europe, Iran in sunny meadows or bushy slopes, from lowlands to the foothills, on slightly acidic, neutral or calcareous soil.
It is used as salep in Iran and Turkey. It is also places among the top six most marketable orchids for salep due to its mucin content and ash content hits the best grade level.