# AI firms claim they can recreate endangered plant scents without harvesting

Digest AI · Society & Work · published 2026-10-06T13:00:15Z

Canonical: https://digestai.news/story/ai-firms-claim-they-can-recreate-endangered-plant-scents-without-harve

## Summary

Scientists and biotech companies say AI could soon replicate scents from endangered plants, reducing pressure on wild populations. Osmo, a Google Brain spin-off, used AI to recreate a rare tree’s scent from a tiny bark sample. BioHarvest Sciences created a cell culture for an unnamed Southeast Asian plant, aiming for 20 tonnes of fragrance production next year, according to its CEO, Zaki Rakib. The goal is to meet unlimited demand without overharvesting, though critics call it greenwashing—synthetic scents don’t protect endangered species or address broader threats like illegal logging.

Critics like Mandy Aftel, founder of the Aftel Archive, argue that replicating a scent doesn’t save the plant. Rhian Smith of Kew Gardens notes that wild-sourced oudh remains highly prized. Osmo’s founder, Alex Wiltschko, admits conservation isn’t his primary focus, but his AI predicts scent combinations using over 5 million human responses. Other projects, like Cloud Reverie, harvest microbes from clouds for new fragrances. Still, experts say AI can’t fully capture a plant’s complex scent—it’s just a fragment of the original.

## Key points

- Osmo’s AI recreated a rare tree scent from a finger-sized bark sample using spectrometry and AI reconstruction
- BioHarvest plans 20 tonnes of fragrance production from a cell culture of an unnamed endangered plant by 2027
- Critics argue synthetic scents don’t protect endangered species or reduce wild harvesting pressure

## Why it matters

If successful, AI-driven scent replication could cut demand for wild-harvested ingredients, easing pressure on endangered plants. But skepticism remains over whether it truly conserves species or just shifts demand to lab-made alternatives.

## Sources

1. [Remaking scents: could fragrance tech help take pressure off endangered plants?](https://theguardian.com/science/2026/oct/06/fragrance-biotechnology-endangered-plants-perfume) (The Guardian AI, 2026-10-06)

## Cite

Digest AI, "AI firms claim they can recreate endangered plant scents without harvesting", 6 October 2026, https://digestai.news/story/ai-firms-claim-they-can-recreate-endangered-plant-scents-without-harve

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