Botanical Spotlight: Pine

Here at CRANBOURN^®, we are constantly inspired by different plants, flowers, herbs and spices around the globe. Each botanical possesses different properties, histories and cultural uses, making them a source of endless fascination for us and our perfumery team.

In our Botanical Spotlight series, we will delve into the scientific, cultural and olfactory roots of the key botanicals from our fragrance collections.

A beautiful and distinctive tree, pine is part of the family Pinaceae, genus Pinus and species P. sylvestris.

Ancient trees

Pine is the largest conifer family: The Plant List (compiled by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden) has accepted a huge 126 species names of pines as current.

The trees are evergreen and coniferous and reach the age of 100-1000 years old. Unsurprisingly the majority of pine is native to the Northern Hemisphere, synonymous with sprawling forests or mountainous terrain.

Pine wood is popular in manufacturing and carpentry, for crafting furniture, flooring and more. The resin, oleoresin gum, is used in a large range of products, including paints, varnishes, adhesives, plasticizers, fragrances, biofuels and many more.

Fresh, crisp and woody

Used in aromatherapy, the essential oil can be obtained by steam distillation of the needles, twigs or wood.

Oleoresin gum is collected by ‘tapping’, or mildly wounding, the pine tree to encourage the resin to exude. Distillation of oleoresin gum yields a volatile portion called spirit of turpentine, and a non-volatile part called rosin.

Pine oil has a myriad of uses, from household cleaning products to fragrant soaps. In wellbeing, pine oil can help to soothe itching and inflammation, and help to prevent fungal infections.

In perfume, pine makes a wonderful, grounding heart note. The scent is bright and invigorating but woody and spicy, a unique combination of properties. Pine appears in our  Nordic Serenity™ fragrance, nestled among eucalyptus, cardamom, clove, ginger and more to create a magical woodland scent.

To delve deeper into the history, biology and uses of the diverse botanicals in CRANBOURN^® fragrances, explore our extensive botanicals directory.