# Chemovar

> A chemovar is a cultivar defined and named by its chemical profile, chiefly cannabinoids and terpenes, rather than by its appearance or a market strain name.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/chemovar.html
- Also written: chemovars, chemical variety, chemical cultivar
- Glossary category: Genetics and breeding · Evidence: Supported
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

A chemovar (chemical variety) is a cultivar characterised by its chemistry: its [cannabinoid ratio](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/chemotype-ratio.md) and its [dominant](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/dominant.md) [terpenes](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/terpene.md). The term is used by researchers and some regulators who want a label that means something measurable, instead of a market strain name.

## In practice

The push for chemovars comes from the evidence that strain names and indica/sativa labels are poor guides. Large datasets of lab results show that commercial cannabis falls into a few chemical clusters, and that the label on the jar often does not match its cluster (Smith et al. 2022). Describing a product as "THC-dominant, high [myrcene](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/myrcene.md) and [beta-caryophyllene](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/beta-caryophyllene.md)" tells a buyer more than a name.

For a breeder, describing a selection as a chemovar means reporting a lab profile with the clone: [total cannabinoids](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/total-cannabinoids.md), major terpenes and their percentages, grown and tested more than once. Chemistry shifts with environment, [harvest timing](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/harvest-window.md) and drying, so one test is a snapshot.

## Don't confuse with

- **Chemotype**: a broad class (I to V); a chemovar is a specific cultivar within that class.
- **Strain**: a name that may or may not match the chemistry.
- **Cultivar**: the formal term for a cultivated variety selected for any trait; a chemovar is one defined by chemistry.

## Myth check

Indica/sativa does not predict chemistry or effect; see [indica, sativa and ruderalis](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/genetics-history/indica-sativa-ruderalis.md).

## Related terms

[Chemotype](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/chemotype.md), [Cultivar](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cultivar.md), [Strain](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/strain.md), [Phenotype](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/phenotype.md)

## Read more

- [Chemotype inheritance: how THC and CBD synthase alleles pass on](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/breeding/chemotype-inheritance.md)
- [Why strain names are unreliable: what genetic studies show](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/genetics-history/why-strain-names-are-unreliable.md)

## Sources

1. Smith CJ, Vergara D, Keegan B, Jikomes N. 2022. The phytochemical diversity of commercial Cannabis in the United States. PLOS ONE 17(5):e0267498. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267498
2. Watts S, McElroy M, Migicovsky Z, Maassen H, van Velzen R, Myles S. 2021. Cannabis labelling is associated with genetic variation in terpene synthase genes. Nature Plants 7:1330-1334. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-021-01003-y