Norway spruce
Picea abiesA final conifer comparison: not every evergreen is a fir.
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Recognising the subject
Picea abies bears individual needles and hanging cones; silver-fir cones stand upright. Around Chamonix, this comparison encourages careful observation, without relying on one feature alone.
Which season?
Needles remain in winter; new shoots belong to spring. December is not a compulsory harvesting season. Extraction suppliers set their own plant-part, maturity and origin criteria.
The dossier month is a reading appointment, not a harvesting date. Observe without collecting; altitude, weather and provenance change the seasons.
From plant to material
For a spruce product, check the botanical name first: Picea abies is not black spruce, Picea mariana. Then identify foliage, wood or resin. A process documented for one species cannot automatically be assigned to another.
Extract · How to study this lesson
Look for four things on a supplier’s sheet: botanical name, plant part, process and batch origin. An essential oil, a maceration and an accord are different things. Distillation does not reproduce an entire landscape’s smell: it selects what steam can carry.
Useful words
Describing a sensation is not analysing a formula. Write “this reminds me of…” when offering a comparison.
Facet
One aspect of a smell: a single material may suggest lemon, green leaves and wood.
Accord
A blend of materials that creates an overall impression. It can evoke a plant without containing its extract.
Extract
A material obtained from a source through a specific process. The plant name alone is not enough: the part and method matter.
Distillation
Steam carries volatile constituents. After cooling, the watery distillate is separated from the essential oil when present.
Absolute
A fragrant extract obtained through extraction and purification, usually with solvents. It is not an essential oil.
Resin
A plant secretion distinct from needles and wood. Its extract and an essential oil distilled from foliage are not interchangeable.
A simple exercise
Return to the silver-fir dossier. Make two columns: botanical observation and personal smell memory.
Understanding the answer
Cone shape helps botanical observation. Fresh describes a sensation. Both are useful; neither replaces an extract’s identification.
These materials are learning subjects, not a list of ingredients in Maison du Lac creations.
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Next Cahier
Understanding a perfume material
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