Abstract The essential oil of Pycnocycla nodiflora Decne. ex Boiss. growing wild in Iran was obtained by hydrodistallation and analyzed by GC and GC/MS technique. Seventy-two components representing 86.8% of the total oil were identified. The main components of the oil were Î²-eudesmol (34.3%), hexadecanoic acid (11.5%) and spathulenol (6.9%).