Ravid, U., Institute of Field Crops, Agricultural Research Organization, Haifa, 31-999, Israel
Putievsky, E., Institute of Field Crops, Agricultural Research Organization, Haifa, 31-999, Israel
Katzir, I., Institute of Field Crops, Agricultural Research Organization, Haifa, 31-999, Israel
Ikan, R., Department of Organic Chemistry, Natural Products Laboratory, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91-904, Israel

Enantiomerically pure ( + )‐fenchone was detected in the essential oils of wild, bitter and sweet fennel plants and seeds. Enantiomerically pure ( ‐ )‐fenchone was detected in the oils of wormwood, tansy and cedarleaf. Determination of the enantiomeric purity of fenchone in laboratory‐made essential oils and in essential oils and samples of fenchone from commercial sources, was performed by direct capillary gas chromatography on a LipodexR E column. Copyright © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd