abstract angelica archangelica l. seeds (fruits) were collected in three habitats in 2004 and 2005. monoterpene hydrocarbons (59.3-82.9%) comprised the largest part of the seed oils. one hundred and five identified constituents made up 84.6-95.7% of the oils. the oils of ripe seeds were rich in -phellandrene (33.6-63.4%). -pinene (4.2-15.8%) and sabinene (20.4%) were the second major constitutents in oils. other main components of ripe seed oils were -phellandrene, myrcene and germacrene d. the amounts of -phellandrene decreased from 57.0-63.4% to 39.0-41.3% during the storage of the seeds for twelve months. the composition of the seed embryo oil differed from those of the ripe seeds. the dominant compounds were myrcene (21.8%), -pinene (13.2%), sabinene (8.4%) and zingiberene (7.7%). the seed embryo oil contained about twice higher amount of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons. only 5.2% of -phellandrene was present in the seed embryo oil. key word index: angelica archangelica apiaceaeseed embryoessential oil compositionmyrcene-pinenesabinenezingiberene