(Dec 2000)  
 
There are two types of essential oil producing roses cultivated in the Valley of the Roses. The Rosa damascena forma triginipetala(the pink/light red Damask Rose) and the Rosa damascena var. alba sometimes called Rosa alba(White Rose) The Damask rose is by the far the most important as it yields a higher quantity of oil and many people consider its quality superior(This is one of those things that is open to debate. The White Rose also produces a wonderful oil in both the essential oil and absolute form but it has its own unique qualities) The White Rose is a sturdier crop and is sometimes planted as hedgerows around the Damask Roses. They are also planted at higher elevations where the pink rose does not survive.
....Historically it is believed that Rosa damascena was brought to the Kazanlik area(located in the Valley of the Roses) from Tunisia in 1420 by a Turkish judge. At that time that part of Bulgaria was part of the Turkish Empire and the love of the rose had been well established in the hearts of the people of that region over several centuries. When the roses where planted in this particular valley, they grew extremely well and the emperor of that time Sultan Murad III requested the judge to establish more rose gardens for then needs of the palace.

(Sep 2008)  
 
Rosa centifolia/Rose de Mai/Cabbage Rose/Provence Rose
The absolute is extracted from the blossoms of the deciduous shrub, Rosa centifolia which is cultivated in France, Morocco, Egypt and to a small extent in India. The olfactory characteristics of the absolute will vary according to the point of origin, method of extraction, soil grown in, etc as holds true with other essential oils and absolutes. The differences may be minor but will definitely be evident to the one doing an olfactory examination of the different samples. This evaluation is based on a sample of Rose de Mai from France where it is still cultivated and extracted on a very limited basis compared to the golden age of perfumery in France from the late part of the 18th century until the 1930's.
The absolute is a yellow to deep orange viscous liquid displaying a deep, rich, soft, delicate, sweet roseaceous bouquet with a honeylike undertone. The bouquet while soft and delicate has a unique warmth and radiance. Its tenacity is also very good. As noted by several authors the Rose de Mai from France the spicy note often found in Rosa damascena absolute is much reduced.
In perfumery it has wide application as it blends well with many aromatic essences. It is valued in oriental bouquets, high class floral perfumes, chypres, ambre compositions and would be excellent in culinary, historical and sacred perfumes as the love of this scent is almost universal.
Blends well with jasmin grandiflorum abs, orange blossom abs, cassie abs, boronia abs, beeswax abs, sage clary abs and eo, geranium abs and eo, bergamot eo, sandalwood abs and eo, patchouli abs and eo, guaicwood eo, clove bud abs and co2, rosewood eo, agarwood eo.

(Oct 2007)  
 
Botanical Description of Rose de Mai
This is an erect shrub, 3 to 6 feet in height, having the branches closely covered with nearly straight prickles, scarcely dilated at base, and glandular bristles of various forms and sizes; the large ones are falcate. Shoots erect. Leaves unequally pinnated; leaflets 5 to 7, oblong or ovate, glandular-ciliate on the margin, and subpilose beneath. The flowers are large, usually of a pink color, but varying in hue, form, size, etc., through 100 known varieties, several together, and, drooping, with leafy bracts; flower-bud short and ovoid. Sepals leafy, compound, viscid, and spreading in flower. Petals 5 [should be 5 rows], and usually pale-red. Fruit ovoid; calyx and peduncles glandular-hispid, viscid, and fragrant.
....Other mother plants of roses for reproduction and breeding of new varieties were imported in the 18th century from Holland and Belgium, where exterior trade with the Orient permitted the importation of new botanical roses from overseas. Born in France in the 16th century from several crossings of botanical roses, R. x centifolia or 'Cabbage Rose' with its hundred petals, was introduced in Grasse for the production of rose essence.
....The rose plantations are relatively small and mostly operated by individual farmers and their families--are located near Grasse, Pegomas, Mougin, Montauroux, and other parts of that picturesque and beautiful country; two-thirds of the crop comes from La Colle, Grasse, and Saint-Paul de Vence. In 1939 the extraction of Grasse region processed altogether 750,000 kilos of roses(rose de mai) In 1946 the quantity declined to about 400,000 kilos. In 1949 the Grasse region produced 500,000 kilos of roses and in 1950 300,000 kilos. According to Elmer, roses cultivated in the higher altitudes(about 1,150 meters) yield from 30-35% more concrete than the flowers from the plains(100-250 meter altitude)
....The variety of rose mostly cultivated is the Rose de Mai, a hybrid of R. gallica and R. centifolia, bearing recurved prickles on the flowering branches. Two types are grown in the Grasse district, one more spiny than the other. They are mingled in the plantations, but the more spiny is preferred for less irrigated ground and the one with fewer thorns for wellwatered land. The bushes are planted half a metre apart, in rows one metre asunder. The first fortnight in May sees the rose harvest. The buds open gradually and are numerous, as each stalk bears a dense cluster and all the annual stems are well-covered. In the second half of May, after flowering, they are cut back and the complete pruning takes place in the following November. A rose plantation lasts from eight to ten years. Five thousand rose-trees will occupy about 1/2 acre of land and will produce about 2,200 lb. of flowers during the season.
...Years ago relatively large quantities of "Rose de Mai" were processed in the Grasse region by hydrodistillation for the production of fragrant rose water. To a limited extent this is still practiced. For this purpose 1000kilo of Rose centifolia are charged into a still and boiled in water until 1000 litres of water have distilled over. The water is not redistilled(cohobated) and represents the commercial "rose water." In the process of of distillation about 100 grams of direct rose oil separate in the florentine flask. This quantity corresponds to a yield of 1 kilo of rose oil per 10,000 kilos of Rosa centifolia as compared with 1 kilo of rose oil per 4000kilos of Rosa damascena in Bulgaria(It must,however, be kept in mind that in Bulgaria the rose water is repeatedly cohobated in order to recover the relatively large quantity of rose oil suspended and dissolved therein. The yields indicated above therefore do not represent the actual oil content of the two rose species. The rose oil obtained in the Grasse region is only a byproduct of the preparation of rose water; it is not usually sold on the market as a commercial product, but used by the essential oil houses in Grasse (mostly in perfume compositions).

F. A. Fluckiger visited the area in 1885 and commented on the rose de mai industry in Grasse. "At the time of the author's visit the enormous metal tanks and cemented cisterns for holding rose water (more) in the factory of M. Roure were ready for the reception of the products of the coming season, which, like that of the neroli flowers, is at its height in the month of May, when thousands of kilograms of rose leaves are passed daily into the stills. The rose oil collected in small quantity during the distillation of the rose water is probably equally as fine as the oil of roses from the Balkans or from India; but notwithstanding it grows in nearly the same geographical latitude, the rose in Provence produces far more of the worthless solid constituent, dissolved in the liquid portion, which alone is odorous. The question arises whether a change in the strain of the roses so largely cultivated in Grasse might not lead to an improvement in respect to the oil. However, the rose water has for a century found a good sale, so that Grasse is not under the necessity to seek for further progress. The oil at present obtained in the manufacture amounts to about one kilogram from each 12 000 kilograms of fresh rose petals; to completely satisfy the requirements of customers, oil is obtained from the Balkans. The author thinks that the manufacture in Grasse affords a favorable opportunity to determine the chemical properties, hitherto completely unknown, of the oil to which the rose owes its perfume."

(Sep 2008)  
 
Rosa bourbonia/Edward Rose
Rosa bourbonia absolute is to my knowledge only extracted in India most of which comes from South India in the state of Tamil Nadu. The deciduous shrub is also grown extensively in Rajasthan but its main use is for the production of attar, gulkand and rose water with a small amount of essential oil also being produced in that dry desert region.
The absolute has distinct olfactory characteristics from Rosa damascena and Rosa centifolia in that it presents a more ambery, green honeyed note intermingled with its rich roseaceous heart note. One can distinguish something of the beauty of the Rose Leaf Absolute in its bouquet. The tenacity is very good with a soft delicate radiance.
It can be used in natural perfumery in much the same way as Rosa damascena and Rosa centifolia absolutes but will add its own unique quality to the composition.