abstract the leaf essential oils of astartea leptophylla and astartea sp. nov. were analyzed by gc and gc/ms. astartea leptophylla contained -pinene (52.1%), linalool (4.1%), myrtenol (0.7%) and (+)-myrtenal (9.8%). major components in the astartea sp. nov. oil were -pinene (18.1%), linalool (11.3%), myrtenol (6.3%), and (+)-myrtenal (26.2%). gc of the ethanol extracts of the leaves showed a similar monoterpenoid profile to the oils. a higher extract concentration of cyclodecadienes was further evidence for the rearrangement of germacrene d and bicyclogermacrene to cadinene, aromadendrene, elemene and other cyclosesquiterpene derivatives. the hydrosols from both species were also analyzed. oil yields and component concentrations indicated that astartea, especially astartea sp. nov., could become a commercial source of (+)-(1s,5r)-myrtenal. key word index: astartea leptophylla astartea sp. novmyrtaceaeessential oil compositionmyrtenol(+)-(1s,5r)-myrtenallinalool-pinenehydrodistillationhydrosol