Sainfoin
Onobrychis viciifoliaA meadow has many sources of smell, not just one flower.
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Recognising the subject
Onobrychis viciifolia is a legume with pink flowers in clusters, cultivated as forage and found in meadows. The Gavot plateau is our landscape setting, not an ingredient-origin claim.
Which season?
Flowering runs from late spring into summer depending on conditions. Mowing follows meadow management. Comparing flowers with a later mown field is more useful than choosing one harvest date for perfume.
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
No standard sainfoin fragrance extract is documented here. A nectar plant does not automatically provide a transferable honey smell. Hay is a mixture of dried plants, and hay absolute needs its own supplier specification.
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
Imagine the meadow before and after mowing. Write one green description and one dry description using familiar comparisons.
Understanding the answer
You are describing states of a landscape, not pure sainfoin. Avoid assigning every meadow smell to one flower.
These materials are learning subjects, not a list of ingredients in Maison du Lac creations.
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Understanding a perfume material
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