Pine Tree
Turpentine-bright, resinous, almost solvent-sharp. Pine smells like freshly scored bark weeping sap in July heat — raw, clean, unapologetically chemical.
Scent
Terroir & Maturity
Indicative 2025 wholesale prices.
The Full Story
Did You Know?
In 1840, North Carolina produced 95.9% of all naval stores — turpentine, tar, pitch, and rosin — in the United States, nearly all of it from longleaf pine (Pinus palustris). By the mid-1800s, the state’s longleaf forests had been reduced from an estimated 4–5 million acres to under 60,000, and the industry migrated south to Georgia and Florida.
Extraction & Chemistry
Extraction method
Steam distillation of needles and twigs of Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine) or related species. Yield ranges from 0.25% to 1.0% depending on needle age, season, and pre-distillation drying. In mature Scots pine woodland, estimated yield is approximately 17 kg of essential oil per hectare. Pine oleoresin (gum turpentine) is separately obtained by tapping bark incisions and distilling the collected exudate to yield turpentine oil — concentrated in alpha-pinene (35–44%) — and rosin. Needle oil is used directly in perfumery; turpentine is primarily an industrial feedstock. Pine absolute, obtained by solvent extraction of needles, yields a darker, more balsamic product distinct from the essential oil. Major producing regions: Scandinavia, Russia, the Iberian Peninsula, and the Baltic states.
- Formula
- Complex mixture — key components: alpha-pinene (C₁₀H₁₆), beta-pinene (C₁₀H₁₆)
- CAS
- 8023-99-2
- Botanical
- Pinus sylvestris / Pinus spp.
- Appearance
- Pale yellow to amber viscous liquid
- Odour strength
- Medium
- Lasting power
- 16 hours at 100.00%
- Synonyms
- PINE PINUS PINE NEEDLE
Restricted — must contain < 10 mmol/L peroxides
- Specific gravity
- 0.85700 to 0.88500 @ 25.00 °C.
- Refractive index
- 1.47300 to 1.47850 @ 20.00 °C.
In Perfumery
Pine oil functions as a top-to-heart note with strong diffusive power. Its primary role is as a fresh-green modifier and coniferous accent in fougère, aromatic, and woody compositions. In fougère structures — built on lavender, coumarin, and oakmoss — pine provides bracing lift and a green-resinous dimension that complements the herbal core. In cleaning-product accords, pine’s industrial association is an asset rather than a liability. In fine perfumery, it is used more cautiously than fir or spruce because its turpentine sharpness can dominate a blend. The molecule alpha-pinene, pine’s signature constituent, is itself a workhorse modifier: at perfumery grade it brightens woody accords and adds green-fresh transparency. Pine absolute — a solvent-extracted product with deeper, more balsamic character — is a modifier within fougère and lavender accords, adding resinous body without the volatile sharpness of the essential oil. Beyond direct use, pine-derived alpha-pinene is the starting material for industrial synthesis of linalool, terpineol, geraniol, and camphor — making pine arguably the single most important raw material feedstock in terpene chemistry.