Every terpene profile is a blend, usually of ten or more individual terpenes in precise ratios. But a relatively small group does most of the aromatic heavy lifting, and once you can recognise them by name you can read a profile and have a reasonable idea of how it will smell before you open the bottle.
Here are the ones worth knowing, what each smells like, and where else in nature you'll find them.
Myrcene
Aroma: earthy, musky, herbal, with a faint ripe-fruit sweetness underneath.
Also found in: hops, mango, lemongrass, thyme, bay leaves.
Myrcene is the most abundant terpene in a great many cannabis cultivars, and it's the backbone of the classic "earthy" smell people associate with the plant generally. It's also a major hop terpene, which is why an IPA and certain strains share an obvious family resemblance.
In a blend, myrcene tends to sit underneath rather than on top. It provides body and depth, and profiles heavy in it read as rounded and grounded rather than sharp.
Limonene
Aroma: bright, sharp citrus. Lemon and orange peel.
Also found in: citrus rind, juniper, peppermint.
Limonene is the zesty top note in anything described as lemony or citrusy, and it's one of the most recognisable terpenes there is because everyone has smelled it, every time they've peeled an orange.
It's volatile and forward, so it announces itself immediately and then fades faster than heavier terpenes. In profiles like Lemon Cookies or Tangie it's doing most of the work on first impression.
Caryophyllene
Aroma: peppery, spicy, warm, faintly woody.
Also found in: black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, hops.
Caryophyllene is what gives certain strains their spicy, almost peppery bite. It's structurally unusual among terpenes, being the only common one that contains a cyclobutane ring, which makes it a favourite talking point among people who enjoy that sort of detail.
It's heavier and less volatile than limonene, so it persists in a blend and contributes to the lingering character rather than the first hit.
Pinene
Aroma: sharp, fresh pine and rosemary. Clean and resinous.
Also found in: pine needles, rosemary, basil, dill, conifer resin.
Pinene comes in two forms, alpha and beta, with alpha being the more common in cannabis. It's the most widespread terpene in the natural world generally, and it's the smell of a coniferous forest.
In a profile it cuts through and freshens. A little lifts a heavy earthy blend considerably; too much and the result reads as cleaning product.
Linalool
Aroma: floral, lavender, softly sweet with a slight spice.
Also found in: lavender, coriander, birch, rosewood.
Linalool is one of the most-used aroma compounds in the wider fragrance industry, appearing in an enormous number of soaps, detergents and perfumes. In cannabis profiles it contributes the floral, slightly powdery character found in strains like Lavender.
It's potent in a blend and easy to overdo, at which point a profile tips from floral into soapy.
Humulene
Aroma: hoppy, woody, earthy, with a dry bitterness.
Also found in: hops, sage, ginseng, ginger.
Humulene takes its name from Humulus lupulus, the hop plant, and it's a defining part of what beer smells like. It often appears alongside caryophyllene, and the two together produce much of the dry, woody-spicy character in older-school strains.
Terpinolene
Aroma: fresh and complex, piney and floral with a citrus edge and a herbal note.
Also found in: nutmeg, tea tree, apples, cumin, lilac.
Terpinolene is the least straightforward of the group, reading differently to different people because it sits across several aroma families at once. It's less common as a dominant terpene, but when it does lead, the result is distinctive and hard to mistake.
Ocimene
Aroma: sweet, herbaceous, woody, with a green tropical quality.
Also found in: mint, parsley, basil, orchids, mangoes.
Ocimene turns up in sweeter, fruitier profiles and contributes a light, almost tropical character. It's volatile and tends to sit near the top of a blend alongside limonene.
Reading a profile from its terpenes
Once you know the main players, profile descriptions become much more useful. A blend described as citrus-forward with an earthy base is limonene over myrcene. Something described as gassy, peppery and dense is likely to be caryophyllene-heavy with other things going on underneath.
It's also worth knowing that the aroma families most suppliers use for categorisation, things like citrus, earthy, sweet, spicy, kush, describe the smell of the blend, not an effect. Terpenes are aroma compounds, and a profile labelled with a particular character is telling you what it smells like.
Where the "gassy" smell comes from
Here's something that surprises people: the intense fuel or gas note in certain modern American cultivars is largely not terpenes at all. It comes from a different class of molecule entirely, thiols, present at vanishingly small concentrations but with an enormous aromatic impact.
That's why a terpene-only reproduction of a strain like Gelato or Runtz can nail the sweetness and the body and still miss the characteristic edge. We've gone into it properly in our post on thiols, esters and gassy aromas.
Frequently asked questions
How many terpenes are there in cannabis?
Well over a hundred have been identified, though only a couple of dozen appear at meaningful concentrations, and a handful dominate most cultivars.
Which terpene is the most common?
Myrcene is the most abundant in a large proportion of cultivars, though not all.
Do terpenes get you high?
No. Terpenes are aroma compounds and contain no cannabinoids. They are not psychoactive.
Are these terpenes only found in cannabis?
Not remotely. Every terpene listed here occurs widely across the plant kingdom, in herbs, fruits, conifers and spices. What makes cannabis distinctive is the combination and the ratios, not the individual molecules.
What's the difference between a single terpene and a profile?
A single terpene is one isolated molecule. A profile is a formulation of many terpenes blended to reproduce the aroma of a specific cultivar.
Why does the same strain smell different from different growers?
Terpene expression varies with genetics, growing conditions, harvest timing and curing. It's why formulated profiles exist, they give a consistent reference aroma that doesn't drift batch to batch.
Browse our terpenes range, or read our dosage and dilution guide before your first mix.
18+ only. Terpenes are aroma compounds containing no cannabinoids. Aroma descriptions are sensory, not claims of effect. Nothing in this article is a health or medical claim.