Rose: an aphrodisiac

Did you know the Rose is a mystical symbol of love and romance, and its oil is considered to be an aphrodisiac?   It takes the petals of 30 damask roses to make one drop of Rose Otto essential oil, or 10,000 lbs of roses petals to make 1lb of rose oil.

The romantic back story to how rose essential was discovered is, the Mogul prince, Jehangir, ordered roses to be floated in every canal running through the royal gardens to celebrate his wedding.  The heat of the sun separating the essential oil from the petals was observed by the bridal pair when rowing on the fragrant water and the oil clung to the princesses fingers when she trailed them in the water. The princesses' doting husband ordered the oil to be bottled as a tribute to her. Now that is romantic and would be an aphrodisiac to any woman.

Every culture has its own folklore and traditions associated with the rose. The most common lore about the creation of the rose is usually attributed to Flora, the goddess of spring and flowers. After one of her nymphs dies, Flora calls upon the gods to change her into a beautiful flower. Apollo gives her life; Bacchus gives her nectar; Vertumnus, a beautiful perfume; Pomona, a fruit; and Flora, a "crown" of petals. 

The Rose itself has become an indelible symbol of love and romance. Today over 180 million roses are sold in the United States and approximately 5 billion sold worldwide for the ultimate romantic holiday, Valentines Day.