Skip to content
Dr. Cannabis

Glossary

Chemovar

A cannabis variety defined by its measured chemical profile rather than by a marketing name. The scientifically preferred alternative to "strain".

Researchers argue that "strain" is botanically incorrect for plants — the term properly applies to bacteria and viruses. "Chemovar", short for chemical variety, describes what actually varies and what actually matters: the cannabinoid and terpene content.

Large-scale testing of commercial cannabis identified three main terpene chemotypes among THC-dominant products: high beta-caryophyllene with limonene; high myrcene with pinene; and high terpinolene with myrcene. These cut across indica and sativa labels.

Also written as: chemotype, chemical variety.

Related terms

Sources

  1. Russo EB. The Case for the Entourage Effect and Conventional Breeding of Clinical Cannabis: No "Strain," No Gain. Frontiers in Plant Science. 2019;9:1969.(DOI 10.3389/fpls.2018.01969)Accessed 2026-08-15.
  2. Smith CJ, Vergara D, Keegan B, Jikomes N. The phytochemical diversity of commercial Cannabis in the United States. PLOS ONE. 2022;17(5):e0267498.(DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0267498)Accessed 2026-08-15.