Chemistry of the Australian gymnosperms -: Part 5:: Leaf essential oils of some endemic Tasmanian gymnosperms:: Diselma archeri, Lagarostrobos franklinii, microcachrys tetragona and Phyllocladus aspleniifolius

The steam volatile leaf oils of four endemic Tasmanian conifers have been analyzed. The leaf oil of Diselma archeri, produced in 0.6-0.8% yield, based on fresh leaves, contained alpha-pinene (45-73%), delta-3-carene (1-15%) and limonene as principal components. Lagarostrobos franklinii gave a leaf oil in 0.8-0.9% yield based on fresh leaves in which the major components were alpha-pinene (13-36%), delta-3-carene (1-17%), limonene (16-42%), 16-kaurene (3-7%), phyllocladene (4-10%) and sclarene (2-23%). A re-examination of the,wood oil of this species showed it to contain methyl eugenol (74%), (E)-methyl isoeugenol (2%) and elemicin (24%). Microcachrys tetragona crave a leaf oil in 0.1-0.5% yield based on fresh leaves in which the principal components were alpha-pinene (44-50%) and limonene (10-13%). Phyllocladus aspleniifolius produced a leaf oil in 0.5-1% yield based on fresh leaves in which alpha-pinene (441 55%), phyllocladene (15-28%) and 8-beta-hydroxyisopimarene (5-7%) were principal components.