Abstract Myrtus communis var. italica leaves, fruits and stems were gathered from North Tunisia in order to investigate their essential oils during a one-year vegetative cycle by GC-FID and GC/MS. The yield and composition of myrtle oils were found to depend on the organ type and on the harvest period. The oil yield varied from 0.14â0.61% for the leaves, 0.003â0.11% for the fruits, and 0.001â0.06% for the stems. Forty-eight compounds were identified in leaf oils; Î±-pinene (28.3â58.0%), 1,8-cineole (12.7â30.7%), linalool (2.4â21.5%) and limonene (0.1â13.3%) were the main components. In the fruit oils, 46 compounds were identified with 1,8-cineole (7.3â44.9%), geranyl acetate (1.8â20.5%), linalool (0.7â18.9%) and Î±-pinene (1.2â12.6%) being the main compounds. Only 40 components were identified in stem oils, which were rich in 1,8-cineole (21.0â52.4%), linalool (3.1â18.4%) and Î±-pinene (1.5â16.1%).