The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Understory was released by Lingua Planta in 2021, or during the 2020s, as a fragrance built around the world beneath a forest canopy. The name points to the space often passed through without much notice: the lower part of a woodland, where mosses gather, leaves break down, and new growth begins from the remains of what came before. It is a forest image that asks for attention to the overlooked rather than the spectacular. The fragrance follows that idea through a composition of green, earthy, woody, and resinous materials. Its character comes from the meeting of balsam fir, violet leaf, bergamot, patchouli, lavender absolute, sandalwood, frankincense, oakmoss, orris butter, and iris.
What makes Understory unusual is the way Bergers brings together materials with contrasting personalities. Balsam fir and violet leaf establish the green character, joined by bergamot for a brighter opening. The composition then moves toward patchouli, lavender absolute, and sandalwood. Patchouli supplies an earthy darkness, lavender absolute adds a herbal softness, and sandalwood smooths the transition between the upper notes and the deeper materials below. The base gives the fragrance its forest-floor identity.
The evolution
Understory opens with the green side of the fragrance. Balsam fir and violet leaf are joined by bergamot, creating a fresh, vegetal impression with a bright edge. Balsam fir gives the opening its structure, violet leaf adds a leafy quality, and bergamot brings a clean citrus lift. The initial effect is crisp and green, though the composition quickly reveals the darker materials waiting beneath it. As the fragrance develops, patchouli and lavender absolute become more apparent. Patchouli adds an earthy depth, while lavender absolute gives the middle a softer herbal character. Sandalwood helps hold these materials together, adding a smooth, woody layer that makes the transition feel gradual rather than abrupt. The bright opening remains present, but it is no longer the only point of focus. Later in the wear, frankincense and oakmoss give the composition a mossy, resinous backbone.
Cultural impact
Understory connects fragrance-making with the idea of the understory, the often-overlooked world beneath a forest canopy. Its plant-led composition makes that concept tangible through green balsam fir, violet leaf, bergamot, patchouli, sandalwood, oakmoss, frankincense, lavender absolute, orris butter, and iris. The materials evoke different aspects of a woodland atmosphere without reducing the fragrance to a single, literal place. Its natural positioning and small-batch production place it within a broader approach to artisanal perfumery, where materials and blending methods are central to the finished scent.
The House
Lingua PlantaLingua Planta is a Dutch fragrance line founded by Merle Bergers, whose interest in plant communication shaped a study of scent as a language shared by living plants. What began as a research project after her studies at the Design Academy Eindhoven developed into a collection of natural perfumes. The house makes its fragrances by hand in small batches in the Netherlands, using essential oils and a plant-led approach to scent. Its 2020 releases include Attract, Defend, Henosis, Repel, and Understory, each presenting fragrance through concepts drawn from the ways plants relate to their surroundings.
The Creator
Merle BergersBergers works in natural raw materials and treats them with the patience of a studio artist. Her compositions tend to read as botanical portraits, built around green notes, earthy accords, and the more obscure territory of geosmin and petrichor, the smell of rain on dry ground.
