Rosa damascena, more commonly known as the Damask rose or simply as "Damask" is a rose hybrid, derived from Rosa gallica and Rosa moschata [Huxley, A.]. The crusader Robert de Brie is given credit for bringing them from Persia to Europe sometime between 1254 and 1276. The name refers to Damascus, a major city in the region. They are renowned for their fine fragrance, and their flowers are commercially harvested for rose oil used in perfumery. The perfume industry often refers to this note as Damascus rose. 

Rose oil, meaning either rose otto (attar of rose, attar of roses) or rose absolute, is the essential oil extracted from the petals of various types of rose. Rose ottos are extracted through steam distillation, while Rose absolutes are obtained through solvent extraction or supercritical carbon dioxide extraction, with the Rose absolute being used more commonly in perfumery. Even with their prohibitive price and the advent of organic synthesis, rose oils are still perhaps the most widely used essential oil in perfumery. Due to the labor-intensive production process and the low content of oil in the rose blooms, rose oil commands a very high price. Harvesting of flowers is done by hand in the morning before sunrise and material is distilled the same day.

It takes many pounds of rose petals to distill one ounce of essential oil. To mitigate the cost, some dishonest dealers will dilute rose oil with Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) or Palmarosa (Cymbopogon martinii) essential oils, both of which are rich in geranium, the main constituent of rose oil. Some of these 'rose oils' are up to 90% geranium or palmarosa to 10% rose. This is referred to as extending the Rose fragrance. Sometimes rose essential oil is adulterated with other chemicals such as phenylethanol, which, although a natural component of rose oil, is usually artificially produced. This may be done to compensate for chemotype, e.g. Bulgarian distilled Rose oil is naturally low in phenylethanol, and Ukrainian or Russian Rose oil is naturally high in phenylethanol.

Two major species of rose are cultivated for the production of rose essential oil:

Rosa damascena, the damask rose, which is widely grown in Bulgaria, Turkey, Russia, India, Iran and China.

Rosa centifolia, the cabbage rose, which is more commonly grown in Morocco, France and Egypt.

Most rose oil is produced in Bulgaria, Morocco, Iran and Turkey. Recently, China has begun producing Rose oil as well. More than 300 compounds have been identified in rose oil. The key compounds that contribute to the distinctive scent of rose oil, however, are beta-damascenone, beta-damascone, beta-ionone and rose oxide. Even though these compounds exist in less than 1% quantity of rose oil, they make up for slightly more than 90% of the odor content due to their low odor detection thresholds, [Leffingwell, J. C.].

Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan.

Leffingwell, John C. (1999). Aroma from Carotenoids. Leffingwell & Associates