abstract volatile compounds from baccharis racemosa (ruiz et pav.) dc and two samples of b. linearis (ruiz et pav.) pers. leaves collected in the argentinean patagonia were isolated by steam distillation. yields on the oils were 2.50% for b. racemosa; 0.92% for b. linearis (sample a) and 1.91% for b. linearis (sample b). the leaf oils were analyzed by gc and gc/ms. the main constituents of each oil were: (i) b. racemosa oil: sabinene (13.6%), -pinene (2.8%), myrcene (2.0%), limonene (13.3%), -cadinene (5.3%), (e)-nerolidol (5.0%), viridiflorol (2.6%), -muurolol (9.7%) and -cadinol (3.1%); (ii) b. linearis (sample a) oil: -pinene (6.5%), -pinene (14.9%), myrcene (2.2%), limonene (27.6%), bicyclogermacrene (2.7%), -cadinene (3.9%), caryophyllene oxide (3.1%), cubenol (4.7%) and -cadinol (4.7%); and (iii) b. linearis (sample b) oil: -pinene (2.5%), -pinene (6.5%), limonene (27.7%), -caryophyllene (2.0%), germacrene d (4.7%), bicyclogermacrene (5.4%), -cadinene (6.7%), cubenol (6.0%) and -cadinol (3.0%).