Green Leaf Volatile

Green Leaf Volatile (GLV) refers to a class of compounds—primarily six-carbon aldehydes and alcohols—released when cannabis plant tissue is damaged or stressed. Common GLVs include hexanal, hexenal, and hexanol, which produce fresh, grassy, herbaceous notes. These compounds are not unique to cannabis; they occur across the plant kingdom as part of wound-response chemistry. In cannabis genetics work, GLV profiles are often evaluated during phenotype assessment, as they can indicate plant stress response patterns and contribute to the overall sensory profile of dried and cured material.

Breeders monitor GLV expression when selecting for plant vigor and stress resilience, as volatile release patterns correlate with cellular damage response. Understanding GLV chemistry helps breeders differentiate phenotypes within a cross and track consistency across generations.