abstract hypericum perforatum l. (hypericaceae) is the most commercially important species within the genus hypericum. a wild strain was cultivated at pothiwasa (2200 m), uttarakhand, india. aerial parts were collected (the upper two-thirds) during the flowering phenophase and used to extract the essential oil by means of a clevenger-type apparatus. forty compounds constituting 91.0% of the total volatile oil were identified using gc-fid and gc/ms analysis. the major constituent of the essential oil was germacrene d (22.1%), whereas other important constituents were found to be -caryophyllene (11.3%), -pinene (8.6%), -cadinol (4.4%), -pinene (3.8%), 2-methyl-octane (3.7%), terpinen-4-ol (3.3%), caryophyllene oxide (3.3%), -muurolol (2.9%) and spathulenol (2.8%). the chemical composition of the oil varied qualitatively and quantitatively as compared to previous investigations. the peculiarity of the oil composition from the sample investigated in this paper may be attributed to environmental factors, such as soil nutrient status and growth environment, as well as to the genetic features of the cultivated strain