Espeletia weddellii Sch. Bip. ex Wedd, is a shrub with rosette growth form which grows in the Andes above 3500 m. The essential oil of the leaves of this plant, obtained by hydrodistillation, was analyzed by GC-FID using two fused silica gel columns of different polarity and GC–MS on a 5% phenyl-methypolisiloxane column. Forty-five compounds, which make up 86.2% of the oil, were identified. The main constituents were p-cymene (20.0%), α-phellandrene (17.6%), α-pinene (14.3%), δ-3-carene (6.0%), β-pinene (4.4%), and α-thujene (3.9%). Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.