Six samples of the essential oils obtained by hydrodistillation of stems and leaves of Zingiber spectabile were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. The mean oil yields were 0.027% for the leaves and 0.01% for the stems. The oils contained homogeneous qualitative compositions with high percentages of monoterpene hydrocarbons. The major components of the leaf and stem oils were a-pinene (7.44-11.42% and 10.78-13.69%), b-pinene (35.85-49.35% and 23.52-26.17%) and b-phellandrene (16.59-18.45% and 23.11-38.05%), respectively.