ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To reveal chemical diversify of volatile oils in Houttuynia cordata from major producing areas in China and their genetic basis, lay a foundation for breeding a quality H. cordata variety.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>The volatile oils in H. cordata from 22 provenances were determined by GC. And the relationship among the peak areas of volatile oils, biological characteristics and RAPD makers were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>There were common and special volatile oils in H. cordata from different provenances. The peak areas of common volatile oils in samples were significantly different. The clustering figure based on the peak areas or the relative peak areas of common volatile oils was almost agreed with the one based on RAPD makers analysis. And the differences in chromatograms could be distinguished according to the biological characteristics.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The diversity of volatile oils exists in H. cordata from different provenances which relate with biological characteristics and has genetic basis. H. cordata can be divided into 2 types according to volatile oils, biological characteristics or RAPD marker.</p>