Immortelle is a legendary flower in the Mediterranean region. Its Greek name is Helichrysum, which is “Helios” for “sun” and “Chrysos” for “gold”, because its flowers look like small gold suns that never fade. It is with this essential oil that L’OCCITANE has developed its anti-aging skincare, which has been patented for its effectiveness.
Just south of Provence lies the island of Corsica, where L’Occitane harvests its Immortelle. Until 2003, Immortelle flowers had only grown in the wild, but the picking of the flower was beginning to damage the Corsican landscape. L’OCCITANE found Stephan Francisci, a Corsican native, who was trained in agriculture and owns the land where the Immortelle for L’OCCITANE is harvested. Together, L’OCCITANE and Stephan decided to cultivate the plant in order to preserve this remarkable flower.
Unlike many manufacturers, L’OCCITANE has personal relationships with all of its farmers and ingredient producers. Because of this we were able to visit with Stephan to ask him some questions about Immortelle and Corsica. You’ll find our conversation below. Also, check out the short video about the harvesting of video of Immortelle, where you’ll be able to see the magnificence of Stephan’s land and the Corsican landscape.
How did you get into harvesting immortelle?
SF: I am a Corsican native and from a young age was fascinated by agriculture. I went to an agriculture school and specialized in arboriculture because in Corsica the production of clementines is very important. After my training, I was very fortunate to be able to buy a small piece of land where I cultivated my interest in aromatic plans, in particular immortelle. When I first got into farming, immortelle was only found in the wild. The market for it grew from year to year and the natural reserves were running dry. It was from this that we conceived the idea to cultivate the plant. With the help of Mr. Keyserlingk, a distiller from the Plaine Orientale region of Corsica, and with L’OCCITANE, we decided to cultivate this plan in order to preserve this remarkable flower.
How do you harvest immortelle?
SF: Immortelle flowers begin to grow at the beginning of the spring and by June the flower has bloomed and is ready for harvest. The harvest is mechanized and we use the same machines that are used in the harvesting of lavender. The immortelle is cut, put into containers and immediately transported to the distillery.
How much immortelle has to be harvested in order to distill the essential oil for use in L’OCCITANE’s products?
SF: Depending on the crop, we harvest on average three to four tons of immortelle flowers per hectare (10,000 square meters). I own ten hectares so I produce roughly 40 tons of immortelle. The essential oil is very precious however, as one ton of immortelle flowers produces only 2 kilograms of essential oil.
The growing, harvesting and distilling of Immortelle is very much a labor of love. We are thankful to have such dedicated team producing this "precious" ingredient for us.
~ Christine
