In our research, we examined 8 chamomile populations of different origin, both in their natural habitat and under cultivation in our experimental field, Soroksar. According to the morphological observations, it was ascertained that for plant-height populations from the Great Plain were smaller (7-29 cm) than plants from Transdanubia (16-56 cm). This difference also can be observed under cultivation assured the same environmental conditions. In our experimetal field, every population was higher and the plants were more homogeneous (CV% = 7.1-15.6) than in their natural habitat (CV% = 16.8-28.5). For flower-diameter, plants from Transdanubia were characterised by larger flower (1.2-2.3 cm) than populations of Hortobagy region (0.6-2.1 cm), but the differences were not significant in every case. Although under cultivation the flower-diameter was larger neither the year nor the cultivation field significantly affected the results. The essential oil content of populations from Transdanubia, both in their natural habitat (0.55-0.66 g/100 g) and under cultivation (0.56-0.69 g/100 g), had higher essential-oil content than plants from Hortobagy region (0.29-0.33 g/100 g). However, the environmental circumstances had a different effect on the essential-oil content. For essential-oil composition, the populations could be divided into two groups: the /-/-alpha-bisabolol chemotype (where the ratio of this component is between 45-58%) and the bisabololoxide A chemotype (where the ratio of bisabololoxide A varied between 34-43%). Populations from Hortobagy belong to the first group, while plants from Transdanubia are mainly found in the second group. Members of the second type are also characterised by higher chamazulene content (7.3-15.4%). High apigenin content was observed in plants originating from the central part of Hortobagy region. Concerning the amount of chlorogenic acid, hyperoside and quercitrin, differences were not affected by the origin.
