abstract the seasonal variations of the essential oil content and composition of a mentha spicata population grown wild in greece were examined. the oil content ranged from 0.1-1.8%, with the maximum values in late summer/early autumn. the essential oil obtained from the leaves was characterized by a very high content in linalool, i.e. 85.0-93.9% of the total oil (highest percentage in mid-autumn). other oil constituents occurring in much lower amounts were germacrene d (up to 4.2%), -caryophyllene (up to 2.6%) and 1,8-cineole (up to 2.1%). key word index: mentha spicata labiataeessential oil compositionlinaloolseasonal variation