This has been driving me mad! I’m a Florida native and have never been able to identify which palm gives off a spicy peppery smell. I’m 80% it’s a palm but not sure which one. I smell this spicy pepper smell near a lot of other plants and palms so I’m having a hard time identifying what plant it is. Does anyone know what palm gives off a spicy smell? I’m leaning towards a thatcher palm. Just wondering if anyone has experienced that smell or has more information on it.

28 minutes ago, Dopeyfox said:

This has been driving me mad! I’m a Florida native and have never been able to identify which palm gives off a spicy peppery smell. I’m 80% it’s a palm but not sure which one. I smell this spicy pepper smell near a lot of other plants and palms so I’m having a hard time identifying what plant it is. Does anyone know what palm gives off a spicy smell? I’m leaning towards a thatcher palm. Just wondering if anyone has experienced that smell or has more information on it.

Welcome to PalmTalk! Where do you encounter the smell? Do you have a photo or set of photos from the general area?

I have a general area. I tried taking a picture but not sure if this is the palm.

@Dopeyfox the plant in the photo is a Cycad, most likely Cycas Thouarsii. It's been commonly called the "Queen Sago" in FL. There were a whole bunch imported to the area back in the 80s and 90s. It's a close relative to the common "Sago Palm," aka Cycas Revoluta. I don't remember noticing a spicy pepper smell around them, but sometimes the cones have a smell to them.

Some insecticides give off a very peppery smell. Those used as sprays to treat palms and cycads topically.

If it is coning then your olfactory senses may pick up the scent you’re describing. Everyone has a different sense of smell, perhaps you need to get a job as a smellier! I love the smell of dynamic lifter a chicken poo based fertiliser to me it smells like chocolate which it it is most definitely not chocolate 🍫

Here is a result from a question to ChatGTP via Duck Duck go :

The terpene that gives pepper its odor is beta caryophyllene. There are limited studies on cycads since cycads are not an important source of beta caryophyllene for fragrance companies. It is reputed to attract some pollinators and it deters herbivores, which might be important to species survival being it comes from the cone. Macrozamia sp have been found to emit beta caryophyllene and other terpenes from the cones.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17916726/

In the case of Macrozamia there is an odor mediated a push/pull pollination that is controlled by beta caryophyllene, beta myrcene, and beta ocimene. Most of what I have read about beta caryophyllene is its a herbivore deterrent, it tastes bitter to grazing animals and attracts some herbivore insect predators. As pure compounds, the beta myrcene smells of mangoes, and the beta ocimene is tropical/citrusy and is high in sweet basil plants. Beta ocimene and beta myrcene are some of the most potent attractors of pollinators but also repellents and even toxins of herbivore insects. For example beta ocimene kills aphids on contact very effectively, it doesn't just repel, it kills. I once bought a natural insecticide from the big box store and sure enough, the actives were a terpene mix including beta ocimene and others. I had a bad aphid attack when I lived in Alameda, it worked like a charm, all dead in minutes. ANd it smelled wonderful to me as I knew the fragrance was harmless and even healthy for humans.

Here is one natural product pesticide/repellent you can trust(attached), always read the contents for what they are putting in it. This one has rosemary oil and clove oil in a water based suspension. Essential oils carry a number of terpenes unique to the species of plant. If you want to see all the terpenes you will have to look up assays of clove oil(mostly eugenol, very potent insect killer/repellent) and rosemary oil( a complex mix of terpenes)_ as they are natural products. Natural products don't have assays of all the contents (in a natural oil) on the label. Since humans consume both in spices on food, they are quite safe.

Systemica_Indoor_Quart_R25-1.pdf