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Saman

Q: Is Saman natural or synthetic?

. Extraction: No commercial essential oil or absolute of Samanea saman is produced for perfumery. The wood note is reconstructed synthetically..

WOODS AND MOSSES / woody · earthy · warm

Saman

Category	WOODS AND MOSSES
Subcategory	woody · earthy · warm
Origin
Volatility	Base Note
Botanical	Samanea saman
Appearance	N/A — olfactory note (woody, earthy)
Odor Strength	Medium
Producing Countries	South America
Pyramid	Base

Tropical hardwood, warm and slightly sweet, with a resinous-earthy undertone. Saman (rain tree) smells like a freshly cut timber yard in Central America -- woody, balsamic, green.

Scent
The Full Story
Fun Fact
Extraction & Chemistry
In Perfumery

Scent

Warm, sweet-woody, with a gentle balsamic undertone and a faint coumarinic hay-sweetness. Softer than teak, less dry than cedar, less creamy than sandalwood. The tropical-legume character gives it a warmth that reads as outdoor air rather than indoor wood. Like standing in the shade of a massive tree with sawdust at your feet.

Evolution over time

Immediately

Warm woody sweetness, faint coumarin-hay, green-tropical

After a few hours

Balsamic depth develops, earthy warmth

After a few days

Soft, sweet-woody warmth, quiet and tenacious

The Full Story

Saman refers to Samanea saman (syn. Albizia saman), the rain tree or monkey pod -- a massive tropical legume native to Central and South America. The wood is prized in furniture-making for its warm, golden-brown colour and interlocked grain. Its olfactory profile is woody, warm, faintly sweet, and mildly balsamic.

No commercial essential oil of saman wood is produced for perfumery. The note is reconstructed as a tropical-wood accord: warmer and sweeter than teak, less resinous than cedar, with a vaguely leguminous (coumarinic) sweetness from the tree's Fabaceae lineage. Construction may use coumarin (for the sweet-hay edge), cedryl acetate (for woody warmth), and vetiver (for earthy depth).

Functionally, saman works as a warm-woody base note with tropical associations. It provides a gentler, sweeter alternative to standard cedar or sandalwood. The note works in tropical-woody, warm-balsamic, and naturalistic compositions.

This note in Première Peau. Nuit Elastique · Albâtre Sépia. Sample all seven extraits in the Discovery Set.

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Related: Alder · Alpha Humulene · Amaranth · Amberever · Ambramone · Amburana Bark · Antillone · Apple Tree

Did You Know?

Did you know?

The rain tree's common name comes from the leaf-folding behaviour of its bipinnate leaves: they close in the evening and during rain, allowing water to drip through to the soil below. Cicadas feeding on the tree's sap also excrete a fine mist, which was historically mistaken for the tree itself 'raining.'

Extraction & Chemistry

Extraction method: No commercial essential oil or absolute of Samanea saman is produced for perfumery. The wood note is reconstructed synthetically.

Molecular Formula	N/A — complex natural wood
CAS Number	N/A — natural wood (no standard essential oil)
Botanical Name	Samanea saman
IFRA Status	No known restrictions
Synonyms	Rain Tree, Monkey Pod
Physical Properties
Odor Strength	Medium
Lasting Power	> 200 hours
Appearance	N/A — olfactory note (woody, earthy)

In Perfumery

Saman is a warm-woody base note providing a tropical hardwood character. Softer and sweeter than teak, less creamy than sandalwood. Built from coumarin (sweet-hay edge), cedryl acetate (woody warmth), and vetiver (earthy depth). The note works in tropical-woody, warm-balsamic, and naturalistic compositions as a gentle, accessible wood alternative.