Lilium cv.'Casa Blanca' - Liliaceae - Casa Blanca lily, **Lilie 'Casa Blanca'**

"'Casa Blanca' is a popular Oriental hybrid cultivar that features pure white flowers (to 8-10" wide) with contrasting reddish-brown anthers. Blooms in mid-summer on rigid stems rising 3-4' tall. Flowers are very fragrant. Excellent fresh cut flower. Oriental hybrid lilies are known for their intense fragrances, large flowers (6-8" wide) with recurved petals, and rich colors." \\
[[http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=k880]]

"The Casablanca lily (Lilium cv. Casablanca) belongs to the Liliaceae (the Lily family). It is one of Oriental hybrid lily. This lily was cross-breeded between 'Yama-yuru (Lilium auratum)' , 'Saku-yuri (Lilium auratum var. platyphyllum)' and 'Tamoto-yuri (Lilium nobilissimum)' in Holland. The large, about 20 cm across, white flowers bloom atop of stem from June to July. It has a strong scent." \\
[[http://www.botanic.jp/plants-ka/casabl.htm]] 

|{{:benzyl_alcohol.png| benzyl alcohol}} \\ benzyl alcohol | {{:linalool.jpg|linalool}} \\ linalool |{{:isoeugenol.jpg| isoeugenol}} \\ isoeugenol |{{:valspice.jpg| 4-methyl guaiacol}} \\ p-creosol \\ //(4-methyl guaiacol, valspice)// | {{:indole.jpg| indole}} \\ indole | 

Oriental hybrid lily flowers like Lilium cv.'Casa Blanca' have a pleasant fragrance, but the scent sometimes maybe be perceived as too strong and therefore unpleasant. \\
"Our analysis of the major scent compounds in cut flowers of ‘Casa Blanca’ lilies, which is one of the most popular oriental hybrid lilies in Japan, identified two aromatics (benzyl alcohol and iso-eugenol) and two terpenoids (linalool and cis-ocimene). In addition, p-creosol (aromatics) was detected as a minor component. Based on sensual impressions, we assumed that iso-eugenol and p-creosol were the main causes of the unpleasant odor." \\
On the third day, emissions of scent compounds per flower of ‘Casa Blanca’ were (average nmol/24 h/flower): benzaldehyde (203.8), benzyl acetate (2.8), benzyl alcohol (3005.0), benzyl benzoate (50.8), p-cresol (5.9), p-creosol (36.0), eugenol (111.8), iso-eugenol (788.4), methyl benzoate (18.2), 2-phenylethanol (63.9), vanillin (82.6), 2,6-dimethyl-1,7-octadiene-3,6-diol (98.9), 2,6-dimethyl-3,7-octadiene-2,6-diol (140.5), α-farnesene (trace), geranial (13.3), geraniol (113.9), geranyl acetate (7.7), linalool (3816.7), cis-linalool oxide (14.4), trans-linalool oxide (16.1), myrcene (149.9), (4E,6Z)-allo-ocimene (35.9), (Z)-ocimene (2663.4), (E)-ocimene (86.3), and indole (87.4). \\
[Oyama-Okubo, Naomi, Masayoshi Nakayama, and Kazuo Ichimura. "Control of floral scent emission by inhibitors of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase in cut flower of Lilium cv.‘Casa Blanca’." Journal of the Japanese Society for Horticultural Science 80.2 (2011): 190-199] [[https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jjshs1/80/2/80_2_190/_pdf]]

Maybe due to the combination of benzyl acetate, p-cresol, and indol, the flower scent is perceived as having a jasmine-like note. [A.K.]


{{:dsc06216k.jpg?600|}} \\
Lilium cv.'Casa Blanca', [[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/|CC BY-SA 3.0]], Author: Andreas Kraska