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Terpene chart

Cannabis terpene chart

Terpenes are the aroma compounds of cannabis, the same family of molecules that gives pine, citrus peel, hops and lavender their scent. This chart shows the eight terpenes labs most often measure in cannabis flower, built from 30,937 lab-tested terpene profiles: how often each one leads a profile, how much of the profile it usually makes up, what it smells like and where else it occurs in nature.

Release 2026-10-21Every figure graded A to DAroma and chemistry only

Terpene chart
TerpeneAromaAlso inLeadsTypical share where presentData
MyrceneSweet, balsamicIn a lab odor study of six cannabis cultivars, myrcene smelled hop-like.Hops · Lemongrass, West Indian bay · lemongrass, West Indian bay, verbena, cypress, clary sage, some mango varieties35% of profiles10.9–26.7%30,937 profiles · grade A
CaryophylleneWoody, spicy, cloveBlack pepper · Clove, hops · black pepper, clove, hops31.3% of profiles14.2–24.8%30,937 profiles · grade A
LimoneneCitrus, lemon, freshIn a lab odor study of six cannabis cultivars, limonene smelled citrus-like.Citrus peel · Mandarin, orange · orange, lemon, mandarin and other citrus peel oils26.7% of profiles9–24.2%30,937 profiles · grade A
TerpinoleneSweet, pineTea tree · Citrus oils, pine · tea tree oil, orange, bergamot, mandarin, tangerine, Scots pine, some mango varieties4.1% of profiles0.3–1%30,937 profiles · grade A
PinenePine, resinousIn a lab odor study of six cannabis cultivars, α-pinene smelled pine-like.Pine resin · Rosemary, eucalyptus · turpentine, Scots pine, rosemary, eucalyptus, coriander, cumin1.6% of profiles6–10.6%30,937 profiles · grade A
LinaloolFloral, lavenderIn a lab odor study of six cannabis cultivars, linalool smelled citrus-like and floral.Lavender · Coriander, bergamot · lavender, coriander, bergamot, rosewood, apples, citrus, grapes1.2% of profiles3.2–9.2%30,937 profiles · grade A
HumuleneWoody, spicyIn a lab odor study of six cannabis cultivars, α-humulene smelled hop-like.Hops · Grains of paradise, Leptospermum · hops, grains of paradise, Leptospermum species (the genus that includes manuka)0% of profiles4.9–8.7%30,937 profiles · grade A
OcimeneWarm, herbalFlower scents · Snapdragon, some mangoes · floral scents of many plant families, snapdragon, satsuma mandarin flowers, some mango varieties0% of profiles0.6–1.9%12,062 profiles · grade A

This chart shows chemistry and aroma from lab tests. How terpenes affect people is not well studied, so we don't list effects.

Aroma words from published odor descriptions (PubChem and the papers listed on each terpene page).

Which terpene leads

Share of profiles

How often each terpene is the largest one in a strain’s lab-tested terpene profile.

    Aroma families

    Smell only

    Grouped by published odor descriptions.

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    Download the chart as SVG, or the figures behind it as CSV. Both are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: credit CannabisStrains.com with a link to this page.

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Chart: <a href="https://cannabisstrains.com/terpenes/">CannabisStrains.com</a>, CC BY 4.0

    How to read the figures

    • Leads: the share of profiles in which this terpene is the largest one measured.
    • Typical share: the middle half of its share of total terpenes, in profiles where it was measured and found. A quarter of profiles fall below the range and a quarter above it.
    • Profiles and grade: how many lab profiles stand behind the row, and how much data that is (grades A to D).
    • We count a terpene only where the lab's panel included it. A terpene a lab didn't test is left out, not counted as zero.
    • Shares describe the balance of a profile. They say nothing about how much terpene a particular product contains, which changes with drying and storage.

    Aroma families

    Six aroma families, each grouping terpenes by their published odor descriptions: citrus, pine, earthy, floral, spicy and herbal. A terpene can sit in more than one family. The families describe smell only.

    About terpenes

    What is a terpene?

    A terpene is a molecule built from five-carbon units called isoprene. Monoterpenes, such as myrcene and limonene, have 10 carbons; sesquiterpenes, such as caryophyllene and humulene, have 15. Plants make them as aroma compounds, and cannabis makes most of its terpenes in the tiny resin glands on its flowers.

    Why are there only eight terpenes on the chart?

    These eight are on almost every lab's terpene panel, so we have enough profiles to grade them. Other terpenes that some labs measure, such as bisabolol, nerolidol and valencene, will join the chart once we hold enough graded profiles for them.

    Why don't you list terpene effects?

    How terpenes affect people is not well studied, and claims about it often go well beyond the evidence. So we describe what can be measured: chemistry, aroma and where else each terpene occurs.

    Where do the aroma words come from?

    From published odor descriptions of each pure compound, mostly via PubChem, the US National Library of Medicine's chemistry database. Each terpene page lists its sources.

    Sources

    1. Cannabis glandular trichomes alter morphology and metabolite content during flower maturation. The Plant Journal (Livingston SJ, Quilichini TD, Booth JK, et al.).
    2. Glossary of class names of organic compounds and reactive intermediates based on structure (IUPAC Recommendations 1995): terpenes, terpenoids. IUPAC (hosted by Queen Mary University of London).
    3. Methodology and data pipeline (method version 1.0.0). CannabisStrains.com.