The Essential Root Oil of Peucedanum lancifolium Lange and Chemotaxonomic Implications

The composition of the essential root oil of Peucedanum lancifolium Lange (A piaceae), grow­ ing in the Atlantic coast regions o f France, North-W est Spain und Portugal was investigated by chromatographic and spectroscopic methods. Forty five terpenoids, many of them of already known structure, and several aliphatic esters have been identified. Besides the main constituent, the irregular sesquiterpene alcohol rram'-sesquilavandulol, representing 53.37% of the total oil, some hitherto unknown sesquiterpenoids with an irregular carbon skeleton were found. The possible chemotaxonomic value o f the essential oil composition with regard to the close botanical relationship of Peucedanum lancifolium Lange and Peucedanum palustre (L .) Moench is briefly discussed. With the exception of these two species, /rara-sesquilavandulol was not found in any other member of the genus Peucedanum.