Abstract Essential oils were obtained from leaves of seven Crassocephalum species and were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Forty-three compounds representing 92-99% of the oils were identified. Only C. biafrae showed preponderant amounts of sesquiterpenes: among them germacrene D was the most abundant. In the other analyzed samples, monoterpene hydrocarbons predominated. The principal constituents in this group were Î±-phellandrene, p-cymene, pinenes, myrcene, limonene and (E)-Î²-ocimene.