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
List of Plant Families and their Corresponding Essential Oil Bearing Plants3,4
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
Anacardiaceae
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
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
Cannabaceae
Cistaceae
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
Ericaceae
- Rhododendron (Rhododendron anthopogon)
- Wintergreen (Gaultheria fragrantissima / Gaultheria procumbens)
Fabaceae
Geraniaceae
Illiciaceae
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 (Salvia rosmarinus / 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
Myristicaceae
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
Orchidaceae
Parmeliaceae
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
Poaceae
- Citronella (Cymbopogon nardus / Cymbopogon winterianus)
- Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus / Cymbopogon flexuosus)
- Palmarosa (Cymbopogon martinii)
- Vetiver (Vetiveria zizanoides)
Rosaceae
Rubiaceae
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
Solanaceae
Styracaceae
Tiliaceae
Valerianaceae
Violaceae
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
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.