Abstract The plant material from organically cultivated Heteropyxis natalensis (Harv.) and cultivated Heteromorpha trifoliata (Wendl.) Eckl. & Zey., from Zimbabwe were steam distilled for essential oils and their composition compared with those from wild plants. The major components in the oil from the summer of semi-dry cultivated H. natalensis were: 1,8-cineole (20.7â32.1%), linalool (21.7â26.8%), limonene (13.1â16.5%), myrcene (3.7â9.3%) and (Z)-Î²-ocimene (2.3â12.4%). The wild plant had linalool (26.5%), 1,8-cineole (24.7%) and limonene (13.3%) as major components in the summer and 1,8-cineole (37.2%) and limonene (22.1%) as major components in the winter/dry season. The oil from the fresh cultivated H. trifoliata had sabinene (15.7â30.0%), limonene (9.5â15.7%) and (Z)-Î²-ocimene (7.1â12.2%), myrcene (8.5â11.1%) and Î´-3-carene (3.6â10.1%) as major components. The oil from the wild semi-dry herb had limonene (15.4%) and sabinene (13.7%) as the main components. The cultivation of indigenous medicinal plants is intended to promote their rational use and conservation. Key Word Index: Heteropyxis natalensis Heteromorpha trifoliata MyrtaceaeApiaceaeorganically cultivated plantsessential oil composition1,8-cineolelinaloollimonenesabinenemyrceneocimeneÎ´-carene