Chemovar

Chemovar (from "chemical variety"; also chemical variant) denotes a cultivated variety distinguished primarily by its secondary-metabolite profile rather than by morphology or genealogy. Hazekamp & Fischedick (2012) and Lewis, Russo & Smith (2018, Planta Medica 84:225–233, "Pharmacological Foundations of Cannabis Chemovars") argued that "chemovar" is a more pharmacologically meaningful descriptor than "strain," because clinical effects correlate with cannabinoid and terpenoid content — not with vernacular names. Lewis et al. (2018) proposed defining chemovars by integrated cannabinoid-plus-terpenoid fingerprints (the PhytoFacts graphical format), identifying, for example, Type I myrcene-dominant, Type I terpinolene-dominant, Type II CBD-rich, and Type III chemovars. Reimann-Philipp et al. (2019) showed 2,662 Nevada medical samples across 396 breeder-reported "strain" names collapsed into only three chemovar clusters. The chemovar framework underlies the industry-wide push — led by Leafly and cannabis clinical researchers — toward medical cannabis labeling reform. → See also: Chemotype, Terpene Profile, Cannabinoid Profile (Chemistry), Strain (Industry/Slang), Entourage Effect (Medical).