Chemotaxonomy of Artemisia variabilis Ten. and A. campestris L. ssp glutinosa (Ten.) Briq. et Cavill. (Asteraceae) from Italy

The composition of the essential oil of Artemisa variabilis Ten. and A. campestris L. ssp. glutinosa (Ten.) Briq. et Cavill was studied in order to clarify the systematic taxonomy of these plants. GC and GC/MS analyses both revealed quantitative and qualitative differences in the composition of their oils. In A. variabilis oil, 1,2-dihydro acenaphthylene (30.0-77.3%) was the predominant component, while mono-, and sesquiterpenic hydrocarbons, alcohols and phenols were present in lower quantities. On the other hand, the oil of A. campestris ssp. glutinosa contained hydrocarbons, monoterpenic-, and sesquiterpenic oxides, while beta -pinene (6.9-51.2%), germacrene D (0.4-28.6%) and bicyclogermacrene (1.0-14.5%) were predominant.