heracleum candicans wall. (apiaceae) is an important endangered aromatic species, exploited commercially with a destructive harvesting system from its natural habitat. we cultivated a wild strain of h. candicans, harvested leaves for extraction of essential oil and analyzed them. twenty-eight compounds were identified from essential oil using gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (gc-fid) and gc-mass spectrometry (gc-ms) analysis. these compounds are very useful for the pharmaceutical, flavor and fragrance industries. harvesting of the leaves for the production of essential oil is a sustainable method compared with uprooting plants. being a perennial species, leaves can be harvested every year, as the aerial parts of the plant regenerate easily and farmers need not worry about planting every year.