Litsea Cubeba and Lemon Verbena: Same Note, Different Rules

Lemon verbena has a devoted following among people who love a soft, sweet lemon, and litsea cubeba often gets suggested as its stand-in. It is a natural idea, since both carry citral. But the two oils live under different rules, and the label on a bottle of verbena can hide more than you would expect.

Litsea Cubeba Essential Oil bottle

Litsea Cubeba Essential Oil

Our own Litsea Cubeba Essential Oil, in sizes from 0.5 oz to bulk.

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Start with the name on the label

Lemon verbena goes by several botanical names depending on who is writing. IFRA's standard is titled for Lippia citriodora Kunth, and its list of synonyms for verbena absolute includes Aloysia triphylla. A 2023 Portuguese study uses Aloysia citrodora Paláu, and a 2025 Peruvian study uses Aloysia triphylla Royle. Those sources do not settle which name is current, but the lesson for a buyer is practical: ask a seller for the botanical name, and which one their safety assessment used. Litsea cubeba is simpler. It is Litsea cubeba, and the oil comes from the fruit.

What IFRA says about each

This is where the two oils really part ways. IFRA's verbena standard states that verbena oils from Lippia citriodora Kunth "should not be used as a fragrance ingredient, based on its sensitizing and phototoxic potential." Verbena absolute is a restricted material, with finished-product limits such as 0.69% in Category 4 and 0.17% in Category 5A.

Litsea cubeba is governed through citral, a restriction rather than a prohibition. The IFRA citral standard allows citral up to set caps for each product category, 0.60% in fine fragrance, 0.15% in body lotions and 1.2% in bar soap, with no restriction for candles. These are the 2020 texts. IFRA standards are an industry code of practice rather than law for a home crafter, but retailers and brand owners often require them, and a cosmetic chemist can check the current version. Our IFRA article shows how to turn the citral cap into an oil share.

Different oils underneath

Citral is where the overlap ends. Laboratory distillates of litsea fruit from eight sites in China ran about 79% to 87% citral, with very little else dominant. An EFSA opinion on commercial steam-distilled litsea reported roughly 66%, our sum of its two reported means. Lemon verbena looks quite different. A Portuguese study of hydrodistilled Aloysia citrodora found geranial at 18.7% to 21.1% and neral at 15.3% to 16.2%, roughly 34% to 37% citral together, alongside spathulenol, caryophyllene oxide, limonene and ar-curcumene. The Peruvian Aloysia triphylla steam-distilled oil led with caryophyllene, germacrene D and beta-pinene, and citral was not among its main components.

The pattern is easy to state. Litsea is a citral-led oil with relatively little else. Verbena carries less citral and a wider supporting cast of other molecules, which is a large part of what makes it smell like verbena. Reasoning from those figures, matching citral by weight reproduces one molecule and leaves the rest behind. So litsea will not smell like verbena, and you cannot swap them by drops. Our swaps article shows the sums for matching citral by weight.

What litsea does well on its own

That does not make litsea second best. We describe our litsea cubeba as intense, sweet and lemon-bright, with a soft fruity, floral roundness, and it stands on its own as a top note in candles, soap, home fragrance and perfumery. It blends well with ginger, rosemary, geranium, vetiver, bergamot and ylang ylang. If you love a bright lemon-drop sparkle, it is a lovely material to explore.

Handle it as a concentrated oil. For skin we recommend 0.5% to 2% in a carrier oil with a patch test first, and we start at the low end because citral is a recognised skin sensitiser. Keep it away from eyes, children and pets, and never take it internally. The pets article and the pregnancy and children article report what is published, and a physician, pharmacist or veterinarian is the right person to ask about your household.

A quick way to decide

Two lemons, two rulebooks: pick the one whose scent and paperwork both suit your project.

Litsea Cubeba Essential Oil bottle

Litsea Cubeba Essential Oil

Litsea Cubeba Essential Oil from our own shop, in sizes from 0.5 oz to bulk.

From $12.99

Shop Now →

Sources & Further Reading