abstract the essential oil of the previously un-investigated leaves and twigs of melaleuca teretifolia endl. (myrtaceae), growing wild in western australia, was investigated by gc and gc/ms. one oil, which yielded 0.2% on a fresh weight basis, was found to be rich in 1,8-cineole (84.0%), with -pinene (1.8%), -pinene (1.2%), limonene (3.1%), terpinen-4-ol (1.8%) and -terpineol (3.3%) as the only other significant constituents. the lemon form gave a much higher yield (1.5%) of an oil rich in neral (29.1%), geranial (38.8%), and myrcene (9.8%), with significant concentrations of limonene (1.0%), citronellal (1.0%), terpinen-4-ol (3.4%), geraniol (2.1%), nerol (1.1%), (z)-isocitral (1.6%) and (e)-isocitral (2.4%). this form has the potential to compete with commercial citral oils.