Geographic variation in the volatile leaf oils J. phoenicea var. phoenicea from throughout its range

Abstract

The compositions of the volatile leaf oils from 5 populations from throughout the range of Juniperus phoenicea var. phoenicea were analyzed. Two chemotypes were found: normal leaf oils and leaf oils containing cedarwood oil components. Except for the chemotypes (hi cedrol), the leaf oils of J. phoenicea are high in α -pinene (41.2 - 51.9%) and manoyl oxide (14.0 - 28.0%) with moderate amounts of α -pinene, myrcene, β -phellandrene and (E)-caryophyllene. Li ttle geographic variation was found in the major components from Narbonne to Andorra, Zarago za thence to El Peñón. The oil from the high cedrol plants at Grazalema seems quite different due to the presence of cedarwood oil components, but it is actually not very different, if one removes the heartwood terpenoids and re-normalizes the remaining terpenoids. Trees with high cedarwood oil had 16.4 - 31.9% cedrol and moderate amounts of other cedarwood oil components (eg., α - & β -cedrene, 2-epi-funebrene, cis-thujopsene, α - & β -alaskene, (E)- β - bisabolene, liguloxide, allo-cedrol). Published on-line www.phytologia.org Phytologia 96(2): 110-116 (April 1, 2014)