## 1 Introduction  
The specificity of Corsican honeys is linked with the environmental characteristics of the island (biodiversity of flora, bioclimatic conditions and topography), the endemic black honeybee and typical hive management. Organoleptic and melissopalynological analysis have permitted Corsican honeys to be classified into six ranges: \"spring\", \"spring maquis\", \"honeydew maquis\", \"chestnut grove\", \"summer maquis\" and \"autumn maquis\", according to the harvest season and the geographic location of the apiaries [1]. These honeys have been certified by two official designations of origin: the national Appellation d'Origine Controlee (AOC) and the European Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), both marketed as \"Miel de Corse-Mele di Corsica\" [2,3]. The organoleptic properties of the \"spring\" honey range are a light color (the lightest among the six ranges) associated with low-to-medium olfactory and aromatic intensities, sometimes with a slight acidity [1, 2, 3]. These honeys are described in terms such as floral, fresh fruit, or dry vegetal according to the vocabulary of odor and the aroma wheel [4]. Moreover, the physicochemical characteristics of \"spring\" honeys are low values of coloration and electrical conductivity. Finally, these honeys are harvested from April to May at low altitudes (below 400 m) on the coast, plains or valleys [1, 2, 3]. The Corsican \"spring\" honeys can be classified into two categories. First, honeys harvested in the oriental plain of the island. These cultivated zones are dominated by clementine orchards (_Citrus sinensis \(\times\) reticulata_) associated with other _Citrus_ species, _Actinidia sinensis_ and various fruit trees. They are always surrounded by maquis; an evergreen scrub of vegetation from Mediterranean area. Second, honeys collected in ruderal and/or littoral maquis areas for their first flowering. Ruderal zones are characterized by herbaceous plants, especially _Asphodelus ramosus_ subsp. _ramosus_ (syn: _A. microcarpus_ Salz et Viv.) associated with various species of _Fabaceae_, _Boraginaceae_, wild _Brassicaceae_, _Apiaceae_ and _Asteraceae_. The coastal areas also showed a diversity of nectariferous and polleniferous resources [5]. Unifloral honeys from the _Citrus_ genus, produced principally from oranges or lemons, are often found in the Mediterranean region (Italy, Spain, Greece, France and North Africa), but also in Israel, USA, Brazil and Mexico [6,7]. The nectar of _Asphodelus_ species is frequently found in the composition of honeys from Mediterranean regions (Italy, Sicily, Corsica and Sardinia), but asphodel unifloral honey is produced mainly in Sardinia [8,9]. In Corsica, the _Asphodelus_ genus is represented by three species: _A. ramosus_ subsp. _ramosus_, _A. cerasiferus_ and _A. fistulosus_[10]. _A. ramosus_ subsp. _ramosus_, which flowers from March to May, was the more visited species. The certification of geographical and botanical origins of Corsican honeys is conventionally based on the melissopalynological analysis of the entire pollen spectrum [5,11]. Furthermore, sensory characteristics and physicochemical parameters are also necessary to specify the botanical origin of honey [5,11,12]. However, this traditional approach is not precise enough to determine the predominant botanical origin exactly, especially when nectar resources are under-represented in the pollen spectrum. For this reason, the chemical composition of honeys has been used to complete the classical approaches of botanical origin determination. Thus, various extraction methods, such as headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME), simultaneous steam distillation-solvent extraction and ultrasound-assisted extraction associated with gas chromatography (GC) have been developed for the analysis of the volatile fraction of honeys [13]. Some volatile components, including methylanthranilate, iliac aldehyde and _p_-menth-1-en-9-al, were therefore suggested as the chemical markers of citrus (species not specified) unifloral honey [13; 14; 15].