Ylang-Ylang.
The essence of Ihlang-Ihlang is distilled from the flowers of the Unona odoratissima, a large tree which grows in the Philippine Islands, the Straits of Malacca, and the Indian Archipelago. Ihlang-Ihlang (improperly spelt Ylang-Ylang by the Spanish residents) is the native Tagal name this tree bears in the Philippine Islands. The Malays call it Kanonga, and it is found described under that name in the works of Rumphius, an eminent botanist of the seventeenth century, who says that the smell of the flowers is so powerful that it scents the air for miles around. The flowers are flosculent and drooping and of a greenish-yellow color. They were first distilled by a chemist at Manilla, and yielded an essence of an exquisite odor, somewhat partaking of the jasmin and lilac, but still having a flavor sui generis. This essence is now largely manufactured, and used by, the leading perfumers either pure or in compounds. It is made principally at Manilla and Singapore. The former is the finest, and costs when pure about £2 per ounce.—E. RIMMEL.—Lond. Pharm. Journ., Jan. 21, 1871.
