14 compounds of this family in the library, boiling between 252 and 275 °C. How the family spreads along the axis says something about its shared behaviour.
Structure
Fifteen carbons, also without a functional group. One and a half times the size of a monoterpene — sesqui in Latin means one and a half.
Behaviour on a smelling strip
Heavy and slow. They sit at the end of the volatility band and are what is left on fabric after a day. Almost nobody notices their presence until they are missing.
Compounds in this family
Ordered by rising boiling point — which is also the order in which you smell them.
| Compound | CAS | Boiling point | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| β-Elemene | 515-13-9 | 252 °C | Light wood, slightly herbal, with a waxy note. Faint and hard to pick out on its own. |
| Longifolene | 475-20-7 | 254 °C | Dry wood, pine resin, slightly dusty. Very lasting and hardly evaporates. |
| α-Copaene | 3856-25-5 | 262 °C | Wood, slightly spicy, with a faint honey note. Warmer than cadinene and less dusty. |
| α-Cedrene | 469-61-4 | 262 °C | Clear cedarwood, dry, a little like pencil shavings. This is the compound that defines the smell of cedarwood. |
| β-Caryophyllene | 87-44-5 | 264 °C | Wood, pepper, dry. It stays a very long time, and almost nobody notices its presence until it is gone. |
| Zingiberene | 495-60-3 | 269 °C | Dried ginger, warm, slightly earthy. The ginger that remains after the citrusy top has gone. |
| α-Farnesene | 502-61-4 | 270 °C | Green apple, light wood, slightly sweet. Feels lighter than the ring sesquiterpenes. |
| β-Selinene | 17066-67-0 | 270 °C | Wood, slightly herbal, with a clear celery note. |
| Bicyclogermacrene | 24703-35-3 | 272 °C | Light wood, slightly green, with a herbal note. Very hard to pick out on its own. |
| Valencene | 4630-07-3 | 274 °C | Sweet orange, light wood, with a slight grapefruit note. A bridge between the citrus family and the woody-resinous family. |
| β-Bisabolene | 495-61-4 | 274 °C | Warm spice, slightly citrus, with a balsamic note. Softer than most woody sesquiterpenes. |
| α-Humulene | 6753-98-6 | 275 °C | Dry wood, slightly pungent, with a hop note. Lighter in impression than caryophyllene although of similar weight. |
| Germacrene D | 23986-74-5 | 275 °C | Wood, slightly spicy, with a faint earthy note. Hard to pick out because it is rarely alone. |
| δ-Cadinene | 483-76-1 | 275 °C | Dry wood, slightly medicinal, with a dusty note. Closer to old wood than to fresh. |
Two ways of ordering, two questions
Boiling point answers the question when do you smell this compound. It is the axis this site uses by default, because it maps directly onto what happens on a smelling strip.
Chemical family answers the question how does this compound behave: stable or fragile, soft or sharp, and how you recognise it on an analysis. Trade literature usually presents compound tables along this axis.
Neither axis is more correct than the other. Knowing both means you can read both kinds of document. Read about the boiling-point axis