Lemongrass or Lemon Verbena? Two Citral Oils Compared

Open a bottle of lemongrass oil and then one of lemon verbena and your nose will tell you they are related. Both lean on citral, the molecule behind sweet-lemon scents. But one comes from a tall tropical grass and the other from a leafy shrub, and the amounts of citral involved are very different. Understanding that gap saves you from swapping them drop for drop.

Lemon Verbena Essential Oil bottle

Lemon Verbena Essential Oil

Our own Lemon Verbena Essential Oil, in sizes from 0.5 oz to bulk.

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A grass and a shrub

Lemongrass is Cymbopogon, the West Indian C. citratus or the East Indian C. flexuosus. Lemon verbena is Aloysia citrodora, a woody shrub. Gas chromatography shows how differently they are built. A Nepalese lemongrass leaf oil came in at 53.1% geranial and 36.1% neral, which is 89.2% citral between them (Dangol et al., 2023). Lemon verbena samples are lower and far less consistent: about 48% in an Ecuadorian oil (Parichanon et al., 2025), 34% to 37% in a Portuguese one (Sprea et al., 2023), and, in a Moroccan study, no geranial detected at all (Oukerrou et al., 2017).

These come from different places, plant parts and methods, so read them as a range and not a contest. The takeaway is simple. Lemongrass is the louder, more single-minded citral oil, and verbena is the more varied one, with more of its character in the molecules besides citral.

What that means in a recipe

If every drop of lemongrass carries roughly twice the citral of a drop of most verbena samples (89.2% against 34% to 48%, assuming similar drop weights), then a straight swap changes the dose of the molecule that matters most for skin and for scent. A better rule is to start the lemongrass at about half the verbena amount and adjust by nose.

In a small, clean, bright analytical laboratory with smooth white walls

IFRA's citral Standard gives the same picture in regulatory terms. It caps citral at 0.15% of the finished product in body lotions and oils and 0.60% in fine fragrance (IFRA Standard on citral). Divide by the citral share and a body oil can hold about 0.17% of the Nepalese lemongrass, 0.31% of the Ecuadorian verbena and 0.44% of the Portuguese verbena. Those are planning numbers from one sample each, and the oil in your hand will differ, but they show who reaches the ceiling first.

Verbena also has a rule of its own. IFRA's Standard 083 says verbena oils should not be used as a fragrance ingredient, citing sensitizing and phototoxic potential, and gives category limits only for the absolute (IFRA Standard 083). Our oil is sold neat and we suggest 0.5% to 2% in a carrier with a patch test. In light of the citral arithmetic above, we start at the bottom of that range, and we suggest you do the same. Anything you intend to sell is worth running past a regulatory consultant. Our safety article sets out what each authority says.

Side by side on a strip

The comparison is easiest by nose. Put each oil on its own strip and smell them back to back. Lemongrass is grassy and direct, a bold, almost herbal lemon that fills the room quickly. Lemon verbena is sweeter and rounder, with the softer floral side that gives it a perfumed feel. Smell them again after a while and the gap tends to widen, because one settles into a steady lemon and the other keeps moving.

The scent, and where the two overlap

We describe our lemon verbena as sparkling, sweet and lemony over a soft herbal-floral heart. In the Ecuadorian study, a panel of eight trained assessors described a verbena oil with lemon, candied lemon and lemongrass among its fruity notes, alongside orange blossom, mint and sweet pastry (Parichanon et al., 2025). So the vocabularies overlap, which is why the two oils get confused, but it is one oil assessed by eight people and not a side-by-side comparison. It does suggest a perfumed, rounded lemon, which is what draws people to the oil.

A perfumer woman in her fifties in a long-sleeved silk blouse, seen from the side at a home perfume bench

Thinking about the project

It can help to picture the finished thing. A cleaning spray for a kitchen counter, a bright soap, or a bold candle calls for something that speaks up, and lemongrass fits that picture. A linen spray, a perfume-style blend or a quiet room scent calls for something that stays in the background, and lemon verbena fits that one. Start with the picture, and the choice often makes itself.

Which one to reach for

Because both are citral oils, a citral percentage alone will not tell you which oil is in a bottle. A report that names the plant and lists the minor compounds does, and our guide to reading a GC-MS report shows what to look for. For the wider family of lemon-scented oils, see the six-oil comparison.

One small amber bottle tightly closed with a black screw cap standing on a pale table beside a fresh sprig of lemon verbena

Lemongrass brings the volume and verbena brings the nuance, and once you know which you need, the choice is easy.

Lemon Verbena Essential Oil bottle

Lemon Verbena Essential Oil

Lemon Verbena Essential Oil from our own shop, in sizes from 0.5 oz to bulk.

From $12.99

Shop Now →

Sources & Further Reading