Glossary
An aroma family is a broad scent category that helps describe how an essential oil smells, such as citrus, floral, herbal, minty, woody, resinous, spicy, earthy, or camphoraceous.
What Aroma Family Means
Aroma families are practical scent groupings. They are not strict botanical categories. A floral oil and an herbal oil may come from the same plant family, while two citrus-family plants may produce very different aromatic materials depending on plant part and extraction method.
Why It Matters
Aroma families help beginners browse, compare, and blend essential oils. If you know you like citrus oils, you may enjoy lemon, sweet orange, bergamot, lime, grapefruit, or mandarin. If you want grounding aromas, woody and resinous oils may be a better place to start.
Example in Essential Oil Use
Lavender essential oil is often described as floral and herbal. Cedarwood Atlas essential oil is woody. Frankincense essential oil is resinous.