plant
Mediterranean Pine
Pinus halepensis
Origin
The Aleppo pine dominates the dry hillsides and coastal ranges of the Mediterranean, from Provence and Spain across to the Levant. It flourishes on poor limestone soils, its bark and resin rich in polyphenols and aromatic terpenes.
The smell
The clean, soaring scent of sun-baked needles and warm bark, sharp with turpentine brightness and softened by a sweet, sappy resin. On a hot afternoon the air beneath these trees grows almost edible, balsamic and faintly lemony, dusted with a dry coniferous powder. It is the smell of shade in a parched landscape, green and reviving and tinged with the salt of a distant sea.
Key quality
A woody-resinous backbone prized for its fresh terpenic lift and antioxidant-rich bark.
Historical use
The ancient Greeks tapped pine resin to seal and flavour wine, a tradition surviving today as retsina. Pine bark extracts, rich in polyphenols, have been studied and marketed as nutraceuticals, while the resin was historically burned as a fumigant and used in salves for respiratory and skin complaints.
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