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A vivid green plant smell with sharp, leafy and slightly bitter character.
Its type, Source, means the smell is named after “a physical origin that can contribute a smell”; it is not an evidence source, such as a study or a book. The page for Tomato plant lists every smell recorded as coming from it.
Tomato leaf smells vividly green and sharp, with a bitter, slightly peppery edge and a sticky, plant-sap intensity. EDITORIAL
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Links SmellBook records for this entry: what it comes from, where you meet it, related smells and comparisons. EDITORIAL links are chosen by SmellBook editors. Nothing here is a ranking.
QUESTIONS ABOUT TOMATO LEAF
Tomato leaf smells vividly green and sharp, with a bitter, slightly peppery edge and a sticky, plant-sap intensity. It is much stronger and wilder than the ripe fruit, and it clings to the fingers after a stem is brushed. On a warm day the smell feels thick and almost resinous. It can be mistaken for other green garden smells, yet its bitter, stinging quality is distinctive.
It is met in vegetable gardens and greenhouses in summer, when tying up plants, pinching out side shoots or picking fruit. Brushing past the stems on a hot afternoon is often enough to fill the air with it.
Typical settings: vegetable garden, greenhouse, freshly touched stem.
SmellBook links it to 2 place pages: see them in Connections.
One VERIFIED scientific claim from one published source is recorded for this entry: Green leaf volatiles after plant damage. This claim says only what its source supports, in the scope shown with it.
The scientific study behind this evidence is chemistry or emission work, not a study of how the smell is perceived.
Tomato Leaf represents the smell identity of the plant rather than the ripe fruit.
SmellBook records 2 written comparisons with other smells: see them in Connections.
Words that are easy to mix up: How do green and herbal differ?
No historical source or heritage record is linked to this entry yet.
Answers marked EDITORIAL are written by SmellBook editors to describe the experience and add no scientific fact. Answers marked VERIFIED point to claims on published sources, checked against each source's own summary where one was available (each claim's page says how); what each claim supports is in its own text and scope.
Scientific evidence · 1 claim
Green leaf volatiles after plant damage
Green leaf volatiles, six-carbon compounds found throughout vascular plants, are produced almost immediately when stresses such as insect feeding damage plant tissue, while their levels in intact tissue are low.
Supports the rapid release of green leaf volatiles from damaged tissue; the review itself does not describe their odour, and profiles vary across species and conditions.
How this was found: Chemical composition. Compounds were identified or measured, without any assessment of their odour. Source: review of earlier studies; chemistry work.
Kenji Matsui & Jurgen Engelberth
DOI 10.1093/pcp/pcac117Links chosen by SmellBook editors, not a ranking.
Associations can vary strongly by person, place and culture.
PATHS FROM HERE
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WHERE THIS SMELL APPEARS
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IN FRAGRANCE & SPACES
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FOR RESEARCHERS AND EDITORS
Identity, revision history, corrections and how to cite Tomato Leaf.
CULTURAL: This entry's associations depend on context, language, memory or culture; its description and smell words are editorial. It says nothing about research or historical evidence; evidence for this entry is shown separately: VERIFIED.
How this entry is identified and named, for citing it or matching it with other records.
SmellBook SB-0011 — Tomato Leafsmellbook:smell:tomato-leafhttps://smellbook.com/smells/tomato-leafSmellBook. (2026). Tomato Leaf (revision 3, 2026-10-06). SmellBook Public Atlas. smellbook:smell:tomato-leaf. https://smellbook.com/smells/tomato-leaf@misc{smellbook_tomato_leaf_r3,
author = {{SmellBook}},
title = {Tomato Leaf},
year = {2026},
note = {SmellBook Public Atlas, revision 3, 2026-10-06, smellbook:smell:tomato-leaf},
url = {https://smellbook.com/smells/tomato-leaf}
}TY - ENCYC ID - smellbook-tomato-leaf-r3 TI - Tomato Leaf AU - SmellBook T2 - SmellBook Public Atlas PY - 2026 DA - 2026/10/06 ET - revision 3 UR - https://smellbook.com/smells/tomato-leaf N1 - SB-0011; smellbook:smell:tomato-leaf; resolver https://smellbook.com/id/smell/tomato-leaf ER -
The citation names revision 3 of 2026-10-06, so a reader can tell exactly which version was cited. Citing records what was read; it does not grant a licence.
Tomato Leaf represents the smell identity of the plant rather than the ripe fruit.
Other entries whose editors linked to Tomato Leaf:
Editorial description expanded to answer what it smells like and where you meet it; independently reviewed.
Created 2026-09-22 · Updated 2026-10-06Dataset history In the SmellBook dataset since the first of three dataset releases of 2026-09-30.
No correction notices published for this entry. Corrections policyEVIDENCE MATTERS
SmellBook separates cultural association, community perception, verified evidence, prediction and experimental relationships rather than presenting them as the same thing. Read the evidence guide ↗ See the evidence coverage report ↗