patchouli

Before it became popular in Europe, the patchouli oil scent was used on genuine indian shawls and in india ink. The oil's odor improves with age and perfumers prefer older oils to confer lasting properties on other scents. The oil is usually thick and a brownish-yellow color.

Pa*tchou"li, Pa*tchou"ly (?), n. [CF. F. patchouli; prob. of East Indian origin.]

1. Bot.

A mintlike plant (Pogostemon Patchouli) of the East Indies, yielding an essential oil from which a highly valued perfume is made.

2.

The perfume made from this plant.

Patchouly camphor Chem., a substance homologous with and resembling borneol, found in patchouly oil.

© Webster 1913.