abstract the steam distilled essential oils of 14 samples of heartwood of santalum macgregorii from papua new guinea have been examined by gc and gc/ms. three extremes of composition have been identified, viz. one in which the oil was very similar to that from s. album, with large amounts of - and -santalol, a form with large amounts of (z)-lanceol, and a form with large amounts of (e,e)-farnesol, (z)--curcumen-12-ol, (z)--curcumen-12-ol and (z)-nuciferol. it would appear from the analyses that chemotypes are not present; rather, there is a continuous variation in the oils of this species.