WoodyStar fruit
Star fruit is the fruit of the star fruit tree, a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia. Its reputation rests on its shape: cut crosswise, the berry forms a five-pointed star, hence its name. In perfumery, its tangy freshness, halfway between green fruit and citrus, serves as a top note — Versace made it one of the signatures of Man Eau Fraîche.
The star fruit tree, Averrhoa carambola, belongs to the Oxalidaceae family. It is a spreading tree of tropical regions that can reach around ten meters and blooms several times a year. Its fruit is an oblong berry formed of five fused carpels: it is this fusion that forms, on a cross-section, the regular star from which the fruit takes its English name, star fruit. The skin, smooth and waxy, is edible; the flesh is crisp and turns from green to orange-yellow as it ripens.
Native to Southeast Asia — Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka — the star fruit tree spread throughout the intertropical zone and reached the Antilles in the eighteenth century. It bears as many names as regions: Goa apple in India, balimbing in Malaysia, yangtao in China. Depending on the variety, its flesh is distinctly sweet or clearly tart.
Star fruit belongs to the fleshy fruits that yield no essential oil: in perfumery, its note is recreated through an accord. It is called upon for a fruity, translucent acidity that extends a citrus opening without its bite. Versace Man Eau Fraîche, in 2006, gave it its best-known place.
Perfumes with the Star fruit note
Woody