THE REBEL WITH THE FLOWERS
Perfuma
Perfuma grows flowers wherever she stands. Hordak, who hates anything pretty, makes the mistake of locking her inside his own fortress.
Perfuma is a member of the Great Rebellion who can make plants grow. Her one Filmation She-Ra episode is "Flowers for Hordak" (1985), where she turns Hordak's fortress into a garden.
The record
The facts
WHO SHE IS
A rebel who grows things
Perfuma's gift is a gentle one: she waves a hand and plants grow, flowers open and vines climb, with or without the sun. In the Filmation She-Ra series she is a member of the Great Rebellion with a pink flower hat and a habit of improving every place she visits, and when we first see her she is redecorating Mermista's Crystal Falls because, as Mermista puts it, "You know how she is."
Her power turns out to matter in a war. In her episode Shadow Weaver's plan is to starve the Whispering Woods of light, and Perfuma is the one rebel who can keep the magic trees alive in the dark, so the Horde has to take her off the board.
THE SIGNATURE EPISODE
Flowers for Hordak
Bob Forward's "Flowers for Hordak" sets up the joke in its first scene, when Hordak punishes Mantenna for bringing him something pretty and announces, "Nothing in the Fright Zone should ever be beautiful." Shadow Weaver then shows him the Black Ruby, which will let her darken the air over the Whispering Woods until the trees weaken, and points out the one flaw: Perfuma. Hordak sends a strike force to Crystal Falls, and while She-Ra, Bow and Mermista deal with the Troopers in the water, a Sky Cycle carries Perfuma off. Her last line before it arrives is "What could possibly happen here?"
Hordak orders her into "the darkest, dankest, dampest, dismalest dungeon we have," and the dungeon is full of flowers before he gets around to gloating. When he does, his Troopers are wearing garlands and dancing, and Perfuma greets him with "Oh, hello there, Hordikins." She tells him his robots are sweet but a little clumsy, and he can only repeat the word. Over the next few scenes the flowers climb the walls of the Fright Zone and the Troopers start singing, and Hordak ends up on his own throne with his face in his hands.[1]
Back in the Woods the rebels have no Perfuma and a forest going limp, and Glimmer lights it from Swift Wind's back for an hour a day until she can barely stand. The rescue, when it comes, is Hordak's idea. He offers to release Perfuma to anyone who will take her away, She-Ra flies to the Fright Zone, and Perfuma says she would rather stay because she likes it there. Hordak lifts the Spell of Darkness, hands over the Black Ruby and throws in three months of supplies to get rid of her. He gets his dreary fortress back, then learns where his Troopers put all the flowers: in Mantenna's bath.
[1] ^ Light Hope tells She-Ra twice to do nothing about Perfuma. She-Ra goes anyway, on the grounds that "Giving Perfuma a ride home isn't doing much," and the episode never says whether the advice was right.
Perfuma in her flower garden, in Flowers for Hordak.
Clipped from our own copy of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Flowers for Hordak (She-Ra: Princess of Power, 1985), 5:20 to 6:47, 1 minute 27 seconds. Nothing is added and nothing is sped up. Copyright Mattel.
LATER SERIES AND FILMS
Perfuma after Filmation
Perfuma's later career belongs to a reboot that is not Filmation canon. DreamWorks' She-Ra and the Princesses of Power brought her back on Netflix in 2018 as one of the princesses, voiced by Genesis Rodriguez, who was named in the cast announcement that May. That version has its own entry.
Perfuma is not part of The Secret of the Sword, the 1985 film cut together from the opening story of the She-Ra series; she does not turn up until later in that first season. The Dolph Lundgren movie has no Etherian characters, and she is not in the 2026 film.
IN PLASTIC
The figures
Mattel's Princess of Power line sold the first Perfuma in 1986, in its second wave, with a backpack that grew a flower. Masters of the Universe Classics made her in 2015, with a rosebud hat that follows the cartoon and a launcher that fires a giant rosebud.[2] Both figures are retired, and neither is sold new at BigBadToyStore today.
[2] ^ Action Figure Barbecue's review of the Classics figure, November 2015, lists a rosebud hat, a plant launcher with a giant rosebud and a Great Rebellion shield, notes that the figure is scented, and reads the launcher as a nod to the vintage figure's growing-flower backpack.
IN BRIEF
Perfuma, from 1985 to Netflix
"Flowers for Hordak" airs
Kidnapped from Crystal Falls and held in the Fright Zone. First aired December 3.
Mattel's Princess of Power Perfuma
Her first figure, from the line's second wave. Long retired.
Masters of the Universe Classics Perfuma
A scented figure with a rosebud hat, sold through the 2015 subscription. Long retired.
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
Netflix's reboot brings her back, voiced by Genesis Rodriguez.
Questions
Perfuma questions, answered
Who is Perfuma?
A member of the Great Rebellion in the Filmation She-Ra series who can make plants and flowers grow with a wave of her hand.
What are Perfuma's powers?
She makes plants grow, even in darkness, so when Shadow Weaver darkens the Whispering Woods the Horde needs her out of the way.
Which episode is Perfuma in?
"Flowers for Hordak," written by Bob Forward and first aired on December 3, 1985. It is her only Filmation episode.
Is Perfuma in The Secret of the Sword?
No. The film is cut together from the series' opening story, and Perfuma first appears later, in "Flowers for Hordak."
Why does Hordak kidnap Perfuma?
Shadow Weaver plans to darken the Whispering Woods with the Black Ruby so the magic trees weaken, and Perfuma could keep them growing in the dark.
How does She-Ra get Perfuma back?
Hordak gives her up. He offers to release Perfuma to anyone who will take her away, and when She-Ra arrives he lifts the Spell of Darkness, hands over the Black Ruby and adds a stock of supplies.
Who voices Perfuma?
The Filmation episode credits do not name her voice. In She-Ra and the Princesses of Power she is voiced by Genesis Rodriguez.
Who wrote Flowers for Hordak?
Bob Forward.
Is there a Perfuma figure to buy right now?
No. The 1986 Princess of Power figure and the 2015 Classics figure are both retired, and neither is sold new at BigBadToyStore.
Compiled by the heman.org desk from the She-Ra: Princess of Power episode "Flowers for Hordak" and its episode guide, Wikipedia's She-Ra episode list for the air date and writer, DreamWorks' cast announcement of May 2018 as reported by Animation World Network, and Action Figure Barbecue's review of the Classics figure.
Alongside
