Blue gentian
Gentiana spp. / Gentiana acaulisColour can inspire fragrance without becoming a raw material.
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Recognising the subject
Blue gentian covers several species. Gentiana acaulis is one Alpine example, not an identification of every photographed flower. Do not confuse it with yellow gentian, whose root is used in liqueurs.
Which season?
Flowering follows snowmelt and varies by species, exposure and altitude. April does not promise flowers everywhere. Observe without uprooting the plant.
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
This dossier studies landscape inspiration, without claiming a blue-gentian essential oil. Macerating yellow-gentian roots is a different subject. A fresh, floral or mineral impression can be created through an accord without the pictured plant.
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
Look at a blue flower, then close the image. Label your words as visual impressions or smells actually experienced.
Understanding the answer
Colour shapes expectations but proves no smell. Say the flower inspires freshness rather than claiming to know its extract.
These materials are learning subjects, not a list of ingredients in Maison du Lac creations.
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Next Cahier
What is an olfactory accord?
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