The composition of the essential oil from twigs of Scots pine (Pinus sylves
tris L.), Black pine (P.nigra Arnold) and Fir (Abies Borisii - Regis (Abies
alba x A. cephalonica) Mattfeld), grown in natural stands in Greece was in
vestigated. The compounds were identified by GC/MS analysis. The Scots pine
oil was found to be rich in alpha -pinene (19.44%), beta -pinene (17.27%),
myrcene (14.00%) and beta -phellandrene (29.14%). The Black pine oil was a
lso rich in alpha -pinene (10.38%), beta -pinene (15.45%), myrcene (3.99%),
beta -caryophyllene (4.03%) and citronellol (14.97%), while the Fir oil wa
s rich in alpha -pinene (3.30%), beta -pinene (2.57%), limonene (46.45%), j
unepene (2.55%) and caryophyllene oxide (7.05%). The mean twig oil yield on
dry weight basis was 0.52%, 0.36% and 0.48% for Scots pine, Black pine and
Fir respectively.