Myrcene is usually the most abundant terpene in cannabis, and it is the one most people are describing when they call a strain earthy or dank. It is the quiet workhorse of the terpene world: rarely the flashiest note, but often the foundation everything else is built on. And it is far from a cannabis exclusive. You have met myrcene in mango, in hops, and in lemongrass, whether you knew it or not.

Where you find it in nature

Mango, hops, lemongrass, thyme, and bay laurel. The hops connection is why myrcene is a familiar note to anyone who knows craft beer, and hops and cannabis are close botanical cousins, which is part of why the two can smell related.

Aroma and flavor

Earthy, musky, and herbal, with a faint sweet-fruit edge underneath. It is the grounding base note in a profile rather than the loud top note, the thing that gives a strain depth and body. Without myrcene, many strains would smell thin.

What the research says

Myrcene has a longer research trail than most terpenes, going back decades, though it is mostly animal work.

• One of the earliest single-molecule studies, Rao and colleagues in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology in 1990, reported that myrcene produced analgesic, or pain-response-reducing, effects in standard mouse tests.
• A 2002 study by do Vale and colleagues in Phytomedicine found that myrcene and limonene, given at high doses, increased sleeping time in mice by roughly 2.6 times.
• More recently, a 2024 study by Wang and colleagues in Pharmaceuticals identified beta-myrcene as a sedative and hypnotic component of lavender essential oil in a mouse insomnia model, and tied the effect to serotonergic signaling.
• Traditionally, myrcene-rich hops have long been used in folk sleep preparations, which is part of why myrcene has the reputation it does.

The caveats matter here too. These are animal studies, and the doses used in the lab are far higher than anything in a food product. The mechanisms are still being worked out. This is research about the compound myrcene, not about our chews.

Strains rich in myrcene

Myrcene anchors the more grounded, Evening-leaning strains. Read more about LA Confidential, Kosher Kush, and Grape Gasoline, all built on a myrcene base.

Frequently asked questions

Does myrcene get you high?

No. Myrcene is an aroma compound, not a cannabinoid. It shapes scent and flavor and does not produce a high. See do terpenes get you high.

Is the mango and myrcene story true?

You may have heard that eating a mango, which is rich in myrcene, changes a cannabis experience. It is a popular piece of folklore, not something well established by research. It is a fun illustration that the same terpene lives in both a fruit and a flower, but treat the claim as a story rather than a fact.

What does myrcene smell like?

Earthy and musky, herbal with a faint sweet, ripe-fruit undertone.

Myrcene in MONDAYS

If earthy and mellow is what you want, look at Raspberry Relief (LA Confidential) and Pound Town (London Pound Cake).

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

References

1. Rao VSN, Menezes AMS, Viana GSB. Effect of myrcene on nociception in mice. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. 1990;34(1):43-48.
2. do Vale TG, et al. Central effects of citral, myrcene and limonene, constituents of essential oil chemotypes. Phytomedicine. 2002;9(8):709-714.
3. Wang Y, et al. Beta-myrcene as a sedative-hypnotic component from lavender essential oil. Pharmaceuticals. 2024;17(9):1161.
4. Russo EB. Taming THC: potential cannabis synergy and phytocannabinoid-terpenoid entourage effects. British Journal of Pharmacology. 2011;163(7):1344-1364.