Station 2 of 13 · Material · the record
Orris butter (orris essential oil, also called orris concrete)
Orris butter is the oil steam-distilled from the dried, ground rhizome of the iris after years of ageing. It sets solid at room temperature because of the fatty acids that come over with it.
The review on record gives about three years in the ground and about three more of ageing, during which the irones form. Separating the fatty acids with alcohol gives the absolute, a further product. No shares are given here.
Read the essay · The card · Next station: extraction · The molecule
The record
Each field carries its evidence: open a chip for the source, the quoted words and the confidence. A field with nothing behind it says so and stays empty.
- Name
- orris butter (orris essential oil, also called orris concrete)
documented
According to industry specification, dry grounded rhizome is steam-distilled to obtain orris essential oil, also known as orris butter or orris concrete (yield of 0.2–0.3%), with an irone content of 13–17% and a high amount of partially esterified fatty acids (>80%), which causes the product to be a solid mass at room temperature and yellow to brown in color.
GC-4 · Crișan I · read 2026-09-30
confidence B
- Kind
- natural
perfumery convention
the trade’s shared vocabulary; no single source
a distillate of the dried rhizome
confidence B
- Botanical
- Iris pallida Lam.
documented
Notably, this species is the basis of industrial orris in Tuscany, and other species (such as I. germanica) are also cultivated for these purposes, mostly in other countries.
GC-4 · Crișan I · read 2026-09-30
GC-4’s specification sentence names no species; the Tuscan orris is I. pallida (and I. germanica elsewhere)
confidence B
- Part
- the dried, ground rhizome, aged
documented
According to industry specification, dry grounded rhizome is steam-distilled to obtain orris essential oil, also known as orris butter or orris concrete (yield of 0.2–0.3%), with an irone content of 13–17% and a high amount of partially esterified fatty acids (>80%), which causes the product to be a solid mass at room temperature and yellow to brown in color.
GC-4 · Crișan I · read 2026-09-30
after about three years of ageing (GC-4)
confidence B
- Extraction
- steam distillation
documented
According to industry specification, dry grounded rhizome is steam-distilled to obtain orris essential oil, also known as orris butter or orris concrete (yield of 0.2–0.3%), with an irone content of 13–17% and a high amount of partially esterified fatty acids (>80%), which causes the product to be a solid mass at room temperature and yellow to brown in color.
GC-4 · Crișan I · read 2026-09-30
confidence B
- Grade
- not on record
not on record
no grade on record
- Descriptors
- not on record
not on record
no descriptor for the butter on record; GC-4 calls the irones behind it violet-like (on molecules/alpha-irone)
- Regulation
- not on record
not on record
no Regulation record yet
- Price band
- not on record
not on record
nothing on the site is for sale and raw-material prices are left out until the sourcing phase (the decisions log; register row 393, 394, 2300, 2302)
- Harvest and processing
- digging of the rhizomes (harvest): the plants are dug up entirely; the rhizomes are sold whole, peeled or sliced; when: in the summer of the third year
documented
In the summer of the third year, the plants are dug up entirely, and rhizomes are sold to the extraction companies as whole rhizomes, peeled or sliced [108].
GC-4 · Crișan I · read 2026-09-30
a review (secondary witness), citing the industry’s own descriptions
confidence B
recorddocumented
In the summer of the third year, the plants are dug up entirely, and rhizomes are sold to the extraction companies as whole rhizomes, peeled or sliced [108].
GC-4 · Crișan I · read 2026-09-30
confidence B
- ageing of the rhizomes (post-harvest): washed, sliced and dried (black-type orris), or peeled by hand and slowly dried for a few years (white-type)record
documented
To obtain black-type orris, harvested rhizomes are washed, sliced and dried, and for white-type orris, they are peeled by hand and undergo slow drying for a few years [156].
GC-4 · Crișan I · read 2026-09-30
confidence B
- digging of the rhizomes (harvest): the plants are dug up entirely; the rhizomes are sold whole, peeled or sliced
- Constituents
- α-irone · share not on record
identity: documented
Essential oil from I. germanica rhizomes from Morocco aged for two years had 62% cis-α-irone, 37% cis-γ-irone and 1% trans-α-irone, while I. pallida essential oil had 61% cis-γ-irone, 34% cis-α-irone and 5% trans-α-irone [161].
GC-4 · Crișan I · read 2026-09-30
α-irone (cis and trans) in an I. pallida rhizome oil, cited by the review to one study; cis-γ-irone is the larger part there and is not recorded as a molecule (the page names α-irone)
confidence B
share: not on record
one oil’s figures (cited by a review) and an industry specification’s total irone content: under the site’s rule no share is shown
- α-irone · share not on record
Films and plates
- SPEC-9 · iris: the /materials specimen still · still
- OR-9 · iris (orris): the origin film (the field to the bench) · queued: the master queue lists OR-9 as queued (the render queue’s list, read 2026-09-30); no path until it is rendered and published
a render-time texture (Brown Mud Leaves 01; a render input only): "Brown Mud Leaves 01", Rob Tuytel (Poly Haven), CC0 1.0; a render-time texture (Bark Willow 02; a render input only): "Bark Willow 02", Charlotte Baglioni (Poly Haven), CC0 1.0
Claims register
Every sentence and number the site states about this record, with its status after the 2026-09-27 review.
- softened · After harvest, the roots must be peeled, dried, and aged for several years (was: After harvest, the roots must be peeled, dried, and aged for 3-5 years)
documented · register row 1325
GC-4 · Crișan I · read 2026-09-30
softened by the house’s review 2026-09-27 (row 2299). GC-4 gives “approximately another three [years] for aging the orris” after a three-year crop (GC-4) and, for white-type orris, peeling by hand and “slow drying for a few years” (GC-4): it supports “several years” and the lower end of the old “3–5 years”; the upper end has no filed source
where the site says it: /materials, “Florentine Iris”
confidence B
- softened · Aging time: Several years (was: Aging time 3–5 years)
documented · register row 1326
GC-4 · Crișan I · read 2026-09-30
softened by the house’s review 2026-09-27 (row 2301). GC-4 gives “approximately another three [years] for aging the orris” after a three-year crop (GC-4) and, for white-type orris, peeling by hand and “slow drying for a few years” (GC-4): it supports “several years” and the lower end of the old “3–5 years”; the upper end has no filed source
where the site says it: /materials, “Florentine Iris”
confidence B
- softened · among the costliest natural materials in perfumery (was: arguably the most expensive natural material in perfumery)
unsourced · register row 2298
softened by the house’s review: a superlative on price. No price source is filed, so “among the costliest” is itself unsourced; prices are left out until the sourcing phase
where the site says it: /materials, “Madagascar Vanilla”
- softened · aged for several years (was: aged for 3-5 years)
documented · register row 2299
GC-4 · Crișan I · read 2026-09-30
GC-4 gives “approximately another three [years] for aging the orris” after a three-year crop (GC-4) and, for white-type orris, peeling by hand and “slow drying for a few years” (GC-4): it supports “several years” and the lower end of the old “3–5 years”; the upper end has no filed source
where the site says it: /materials, “Florentine Iris”
confidence B
- removed · Orris butter is among the costliest materials any perfumer will ever handle. (was: At $40,000-60,000 per kilogram, orris butter is among the costliest materials any perfumer will ever handle.)
unsourced · register row 2300
the price removed by the house’s review 2026-09-27 (a price stated as fact with no source; nothing on the site is for sale (the decisions log)); the sentence that stays is unsourced (no price source filed)
where the site says it: /materials, “Florentine Iris”
- softened · Aging time: Several years (was: Aging time: 3–5 years)
documented · register row 2301
GC-4 · Crișan I · read 2026-09-30
GC-4 gives “approximately another three [years] for aging the orris” after a three-year crop (GC-4) and, for white-type orris, peeling by hand and “slow drying for a few years” (GC-4): it supports “several years” and the lower end of the old “3–5 years”; the upper end has no filed source
where the site says it: /materials, “Florentine Iris”
confidence B
- removed · (removed) (was: Price (butter): $40,000–60,000/kg)
unsourced · register row 2302
removed by the house’s review 2026-09-27: a price stated as fact with no source; nothing on the site is for sale (the decisions log)
- removed · (removed) (was: At $40,000-60,000 per kilogram, orris butter is among the costliest materials any perfumer will ever handle.)
unsourced · register row 393
removed by the house’s review 2026-09-27 (row 2300): a price stated as fact with no source; nothing on the site is for sale (the decisions log)
- removed · (removed) (was: Price (butter) $40,000–60,000/kg)
unsourced · register row 394
removed by the house’s review 2026-09-27 (row 2302): a price stated as fact with no source; nothing on the site is for sale (the decisions log)
Sources
- GC-4 · Crișan I. The Genus Iris Tourn. ex L.: Updates on Botany, Cultivation, Novel Niches and Impactful Applications. Plants (Basel) 2025;14(18):2870. DOI 10.3390/plants14182870. PMID 41012022. PMCID PMC12473546. doi.org/10.3390/plants14182870 · read 2026-09-30 · CC BY (open access, MDPI, as the article states); short quotes only, the text is not filed
These records are published under CC BY 4.0.
this record as data: /data/material/orris-butter.json · version 2 · updated 2026-09-30 · confidence B