List of 130 Essential Oil Profiles (Monographs) Categorized by Plant Family

What is a Plant Family?

The essential oil bearing plants used to product essential oils and absolutes each belong to a plant family, as do all known species of plants.

Explained as simply as possible, taxonomy is an area of science that involves classifying all living organisms into an organized heirarchy.¹

The plant kingdom is formally known as Plantae, and it is broken down into subkingdoms. These subkingdoms are then further broken down to help organize plants by their similar characteristics:²

• Superdivision
• Division
• Subdivision
• Class
• Subclass
• Order
• Family
• Genus

When studying all plants, including essential oil bearing plants, it can be especially helpful to pay attention the Plant Family and the Genus that a the essential oil bearing plant is a member of.

What is a Genus and Species?

When you study the botanical name of an essential oil bearing plant, you will notice that it contains at least 2 words. The first word is the Genus, and the second word is the species. Whenever possible, botanical names should be italicized with the Genus being capitalized and the species appearing in all lowercase letters. When handwriting a botanical name, it is customary to underline the botanical name.

List of Plant Families and their Corresponding Essential Oil Bearing Plants^3,4

On this page, you will find headings for 36 plant families. For each, you will see links to the AromaWeb profiles for the essential oils that are produced from plants that are classified within that plant family.

Each link shown below will lead you to a detailed profile (monograph) for the essential oil.

Agavaceae

• Tuberose Absolute (Polianthes tuberosa)

Anacardiaceae

• Pepper, Pink (Schinus molle)

Annonaceae

• Cananga (Cananga odorata / Cananga odorata var macrophylla)
• Ylang Ylang (Cananga odorata var genuina)

Apiaceae

• Angelica Root (Angelica archangelica)
• Anise (Pimpinella anisum)
• Blue Tansy (Tanacetum annuum)
• Caraway Seed (Carum carvi)
• Carrot Seed (Daucus carota)
• Chamomile, German (Matricaria recutita or Matricaria chamomilla)
• Chamomile, Roman (Anthemis nobilis/ Chamaemelum nobile)
• Coriander (Coriandrum sativum)
• Cumin (Cuminum cyminum)
• Davana (Artemisia pallens)
• Dill Seed (Anethum graveolens)
• Fennel, Sweet (Foeniculum vulgare)
• Parsley Seed (Petroselinum crispum / Petroselinum sativum)
• Helichrysum Gymnocephalum (Helichrysum gymnocephalum)
• Helichrysum Italicum (Helichrysum italicum / Helichrysum angustifolia)
• Tagetes (Tagetes minuta)
• Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Asteraceae

• Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)

Burseraceae

• Elemi (Canarium luzonicum / Canarium vulgare Burseraceae)
• Frankincense (Boswellia carteri Burseraceae)
• Myrrh (Commiphora myrrha Burseraceae)
• Opoponax (Commiphora guidottii / Commiphora erythraea Burseraceae)
• Palo Santo (Bursera graveolens Burseraceae)

Canellaceae

• Saro (Cinnamosma fragrans)

Cannabaceae

• Hemp (Cannabis sativa)
• Hops (Humulus lupulus)

Cistaceae

• Cistus (Cistus ladaniferus)

Cupressaceae

• Blue Cypress (Callitris intratropica)
• Cade (Juniperus oxycedrus)
• Cedarwood, Virginian (Juniperus virginiana)
• Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens)
• Hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa)
• Juniper Berry (Juniperus communis)
• Taiwan Hinoki (Chamaecyparis formosensis)

Dipterocarpaceae

• Gurjum Balsam (Dipterocarpus jourdainii / Dipterocarpus turbinatus)

Ericaceae

• Rhododendron (Rhododendron anthopogon)
• Wintergreen (Gaultheria fragrantissima / Gaultheria procumbens)

Fabaceae

• Copaiba Balsam (Copaifera officinalis)
• Peru Balsam (Myroxylon balsamum / Myroxylon pereirae)

Geraniaceae

• Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens / Pelargonium asperum)
• Geranium, Rose (Pelargonium roseum)

Illiciaceae

• Anise, Star (Illicium verum)

Lamiaceae

• Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
• Bergamot Mint (Mentha citrata / Mentha aquatica L. var. citrata)
• Catnip (Nepeta cataria)
• Clary Sage (Salvia sclarea)
• Cornmint (Mentha arvensis)
• Holy Basil (Ocimum sanctum / Ociumum tenuiflorum)
• Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis var. decumbens)
• Lavandin (Lavandula abrialis / Lavandin Abrialis, Lavandula intermedia / Lavandula hybrida / Lavandin Grosso, Lavandin Super)
• Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia / Lavandula officinalis)
• Lavender, Spike (Lavandula latifolia)
• Marjoram (Origanum majorana)
• Melissa (Melissa officinalis)
• Oregano (Origanum vulgare)
• Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin)
• Peppermint (Mentha piperita)
• Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
• Sage, Dalmation (Salvia officinalis)
• Sage, Spanish (Salvia lavandulaefolia or Salvia lavandulafolia)
• Spearmint (Mentha spicata / Mentha cardiaca)
• Thyme (Thymus vulgaris/ Thymus zygis)

Lauraceae

• Camphor, White (Cinnamomum camphora)
• Cassia (Cinnamomum cassia Cinnamomum aromaticum)
• Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum / Cinnamomum zeylanicum)
• Ho Wood (Cinnamomum camphora var linalool)
• Laurel Leaf (Laurus nobilis)
• May Chang (Litsea cubeba)
• Ravanesara (Ravensara aromatica)
• Ravintsara (Cinnamomum camphora)
• Rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora)

Malvaceae

• Ambrette Seed Absolute (Abelmoschus moschatus / Hibiscus abelmoschus)

Myristicaceae

• Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans)

Myrtaceae

• Allspice (Pimenta dioica / Pimenta officinalis)
• Bay (Pimenta racemosa var racemosa)
• Cajeput (Melaleuca leucadendron / Melaleuca cajuputi)
• Clove Bud (Syzygium aromaticum / Eugenia caryophyllata)
• Eucalyptus, Globulus (Eucalyptus Globulus)
• Eucalyptus Radiata (Eucalyptus Radiata)
• Eucalyptus, Lemon (Eucalyptus citriodora / Corymbia citriodora)
• Fragonia (Taxandria fragrans / Agonis fragrans)
• Kanuka (Kunzea ericoides / Leptospermum ericoides)
• Kunzea (Kunzea ambigua)
• Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium)
• Myrtle (Myrtus communis)
• Myrtle, Lemon (Backhousia citriodora)
• Niaouli (Melaleuca quinquenervia)
• Rosalina (Melaleuca ericifolia)
• Tea Tree (Melaleuca alternifolia)
• Tea Tree, Lemon (Leptospermum petersonii)

Oleaceae

• Jasmine Absolute (Jasminum grandiflorum)

Orchidaceae

• Vanilla Absolute (Vanilla planifolia)

Parmeliaceae

• Oakmoss Absolute (Evernia prunastri)

Pinaceae

• Cedarwood, Atlas (Cedrus atlantica)
• Fir, Balsam (Abies sibirica)
• Fir, Dougas (Pseudotsuga menziesii)
• Fir, Siberian (Abies sibirica)
• Fir, Silver (Abies alba)
• Pine, Pinyon (Pinus edulis)
• Pine, Scotch (Pinus sylvestris)
• Spruce, Black (Picea mariana)
• Spruce, Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis / Pinus canadensis)

Piperaceae

• Cubeb (Piper cubeba)
• Pepper, Black (Piper nigrum)

Poaceae

• Citronella (Cymbopogon nardus / Cymbopogon winterianus)
• Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus / Cymbopogon flexuosus)
• Palmarosa (Cymbopogon martinii)
• Vetiver (Vetiveria zizanoides)

Rosaceae

• Rose Otto (Rosa damascena)

Rubiaceae

• Coffee Absolute (Coffea arabica)

Rutaceae

• Amyris (Amyris balsamifera)
• Bergamot (Citrus bergamia)
• Boronia (Boronia megastigma)
• Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi)
• Lemon (Citrus limon)
• Lime (Citrus aurantifolia)
• Mandarin (Citrus reticulata)
• Neroli (Citrus aurantium)
• Orange, Bitter (Citrus aurantium)
• Orange, Blood (Citrus sinensis)
• Orange, Sweet (Citrus sinensis)
• Petitgrain (Citrus aurantium)
• Tangerine (Citrus reticulata)
• Xanthoxylum (Zanthoxylum armatum / Zanthoxylum alatum / Xanthoxylum alatum)
• Yuzu (Citrus junos)

Santalaceae

• Sandalwood (Santalum album)

Solanaceae

• Tobacco (Nicotania tabacum)

Styracaceae

• Benzoin Absolute (Styrax benzoin)

Tiliaceae

• Linden Blossom (Tilia vulgaris / Tilia cordata)

Valerianaceae

• Spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi)
• Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)

Violaceae

• Violet Leaf (Viola odorata)

Zingiberaceae

• Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum)
• Ginger (Zingiber officinale)
• Plai (Zingiber cassumunar or Zingiber montanum)

References

• ¹Taxonomy: Definition in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Accessed: September 27, 2020
• ²PLANTS Database: USDA PLANTS. Website: https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/. Accessed: September 24-26, 2020
• ³Ibid.
• ⁴Robert Tisserand and Rodney Young, Essential Oil Safety (Second Edition. United Kingdom: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, 2014).

General Safety Information

Do not take any oils internally and do not apply undiluted essential oils, absolutes, CO2s or other concentrated essences onto the skin without advanced essential oil knowledge or consultation from a qualified aromatherapy practitioner. For general dilution information, read AromaWeb's Guide to Diluting Essential Oils. If you are pregnant, epileptic, have liver damage, have cancer, or have any other medical problem, use oils only under the proper guidance of a qualified aromatherapy practitioner. Use extreme caution when using oils with children and be sure to first read the recommended dilution ratios for children. Consult a qualified aromatherapy practitioner before using oils with children, the elderly, if you have medical issues or are taking medications. Before using this or any essential oil, carefully read AromaWeb's Essential Oil Safety Information page. For in-depth information on oil safety issues, read Essential Oil Safety by Robert Tisserand and Rodney Young.

Shelf Life

View Shelf Life Information

Important Information About the Profiles

The essential oil information provided on AromaWeb is intended for educational purposes only. The references to safety information, constituents and percentages is generalized information. The data is not necessary complete and is not guaranteed to be accurate. The essential oil photos are intended to represent the typical and approximate color of each essential oil. However, essential oil color can vary based on harvesting, distillation, age of the essential oil and other factors. Profiles for several absolutes are included within the directory, and are denoted as such.