# Which trees smell the best? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 14, 2010, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089 "2010-06-14T03:09:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BMada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@BMada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMada)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089/1 "2010-06-14T03:09:22Z")
Just wondering what trees are the best smelling ones out there. When some trees flower they really smell good. Name even the foul smelling ones if you’d like, but i’m more interested in the fragrant ones. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089/2 "2010-06-14T03:11:12Z")
Lilac Cedar ---
**Author:** ![MercyStreet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@MercyStreet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MercyStreet)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089/3 "2010-06-14T03:13:26Z")
American linden. Intoxicatingly sweet, citrusy. The sort of fragrance that makes you stop and say, “Hey, where’s the linden?” And then you hustle to the tree and inhale and you don’t care who sees you. Mmmm. ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089/4 "2010-06-14T03:15:14Z")
Do fruit trees count? I love the smell of orange blossoms. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089/5 "2010-06-14T03:21:49Z")
Pines. Returning to the Little Rock airport after several hours on planes and not being able to smoke, I lit up outside the terminal and realized the place smelled beautifully of pine trees. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089/6 "2010-06-14T03:47:32Z")
Mayday trees smell lovely - a light, lovely, springy fragrance. Lilac is nice outside, but I’ve found it overpowering when you bring some blossoms inside. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089/7 "2010-06-14T03:55:44Z")
> [@Pyper](#): > > Do fruit trees count? I love the smell of orange blossoms. Ditto, love orange blossoms. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089/8 "2010-06-14T03:59:40Z")
The [Masters Speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/569/i-want-to-get-my-nipples-pierced-are-there-health-risks) on foul smelling trees. (scroll down if you really are interested) ---
**Author:** ![feppytweed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/feppytweed/32/4280_2.png) [@feppytweed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/feppytweed)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089/9 "2010-06-14T04:06:08Z")
Sweet Olive trees. They don’t actually produce olives, but they smell amazing! ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089/10 "2010-06-14T04:12:45Z")
[Sophora secundiflora](http://www.creditwisecats.org/pima/gardening/aridplants/Sophora_secundiflora.html) have flowers that smell just like grapes! Not as nice as my Lemon trees, but still very nice. ---
**Author:** ![BMada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/96bed5/32.png) [@BMada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMada)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089/11 "2010-06-14T04:17:57Z")
> [@feppytweed](#): > > Sweet Olive trees. They don’t actually produce olives, but they smell amazing! I think we have a winner. My other reason for posting this thread was to find out the name of the tree that I love to smell but can’t name! After googling this tree, it pretty much looks like the one I see in the parkette. This one smells beyond amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089/12 "2010-06-14T05:08:05Z")
Money trees!!! ---
**Author:** ![poornormajeane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@poornormajeane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/poornormajeane)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089/13 "2010-06-14T07:25:09Z")
Our grapefruit tree is the best smelling in the yard. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089/14 "2010-06-14T07:43:55Z")
Mimosa and magnolia trees both have wonderful smelling flowers. Mimosas are considered “trash trees” around here, but I keep a couple in my yard, just because of their lovely looking and smelling flowers. When I was a kid, I spent many happy hours in the branches of our backyard mimosa, and I collected the seed pods. ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089/15 "2010-06-14T09:25:07Z")
I believe it’s the family tree! It smells of bourbon during the annual Thanksgiving hostilities! ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089/16 "2010-06-14T12:36:12Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > Mimosa and magnolia trees both have wonderful smelling flowers. Mimosas are considered “trash trees” around here, but I keep a couple in my yard, just because of their lovely looking and smelling flowers. When I was a kid, I spent many happy hours in the branches of our backyard mimosa, and I collected the seed pods. I’m quoting this for the first mention of magnolia. We had mimosas, too, but I was immune to their smell as such. I like their “Oriental” look but their smell never mattered to me. They’re good for keeping grass from growing nearby. 😃 Cedar for the wood. Pines for the general aroma. Fruit trees (peach mostly) for the blossoms. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089/17 "2010-06-14T13:27:31Z")
My vote is for the magnolia. I have one in my back yard and when it’s in bloom I love burying my face in those big, lemony flowers. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089/18 "2010-06-14T14:44:05Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > [Sophora secundiflora](http://www.creditwisecats.org/pima/gardening/aridplants/Sophora_secundiflora.html) have flowers that smell just like grapes! Not as nice as my Lemon trees, but still very nice. I came in here to say Mountain Laurel! 🙂 They’re very pretty overall, too - lovely branching, very drought-hardy. I wish to have some someday… Bad smelling: the thoroughly overused Bradford Pear. It’s a very symmetrical, lollipop-shaped tree that covers itself with white blossoms just before the leaves come out. Pretty in formal rows … until you smell them. Some people compare them to sweaty laundry or old socks. Some people compare them to something much more X-rated. Either way, they stink. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089/19 "2010-06-14T14:59:35Z")
I must be immune to the scent of pines, I live under a dozen or so 90ft tall white pines and hardly ever smell pines. So glad they’re done pollinating, from afar there are clouds of what looks like smoke erupting from the trees, get closer and you will be covered in yellow pollen dust. My privets are blooming, a somewhat rotting sweet scent thay have. Not a fan of those shrubs and I previously had a death wish on them, until I saw the dozens and dozens of fat bumble and honey bees swarming all over it. So it gets a repreive and i’ll let it stay. come to think of it I can’t even smell the roses until I bury my nose in the bloom, my sense of smell must be going? ---
**Author:** ![silk1976](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@silk1976](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silk1976)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089/20 "2010-06-14T15:05:27Z")
Best tree I’ve ever smelled (there’s a phrase I never anticipated saying) is the Jeffrey Pine - smells like butterscotch! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-trees-smell-the-best/543089.md?page=2)