A quiet, green-herbaceous note with a cucumber-like freshness and a faintly bloody, metallic edge. The flowers are dark crimson, and the scent carries that same suggestion of contained darkness.
Green-herbaceous with cucumber freshness and a faintly metallic-bloody undertone. The dark crimson flowers add a suggestion of contained darkness. Less bright than cucumber alone, less sweet than most florals. A quiet, complex green note with an edge. The blood-metal quality is subtle but present, giving it a character no simple green note possesses.
Evolution over time
Immediately
Immediately
Green-cucumber freshness, faint metallic
After a few hours
After a few hours
Herbaceous depth, dark-crimson suggestion
After a few days
After a few days
Subtle green-metallic trace
Terroir & Origins
Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.
The Full Story
Great burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis) is a perennial herb native to Europe and Asia, producing dark crimson, bottlebrush-like flower heads. The genus name Sanguisorba means 'blood absorber,' referencing its traditional use as a styptic to stop bleeding.
The plant has a subtle, green-herbaceous scent with a particular cucumber-like freshness (from cucumber aldehyde) and a faintly metallic-bloody edge that connects to its hemostatic tradition. The dark crimson flowers seem to carry their color into the scent: something quietly dark underneath the green freshness.
In perfumery, great burnet is a natural note rarely used commercially. When represented, it provides a unique green-herbaceous modifier with a dark, slightly metallic quality. It functions in wildflower-meadow, herbal, and dark-botanical compositions.
This note in Première Peau. Nuit Elastique · Rose Monotone. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.
In medieval European herbalism, Sanguisorba was a important wound herbs. Its high tannin content actually does provide genuine hemostatic properties: the tannins precipitate blood proteins, helping to form clots. Modern research has confirmed its traditional use.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method: Not commercially extracted for perfumery. The herb is cultivated for traditional medicine and ornamental use. Steam distillation or tincture is theoretically possible but not practiced at scale.
Great burnet is a rarely used natural modifier in wildflower, herbal, and dark-botanical compositions. It provides green-herbaceous-cucumber freshness with a unique metallic-bloody edge. The hemostatic tradition and crimson flowers give it narrative darkness. Functions at low doses as a complex green modifier with unexpected depth.
