A CHEMOTAXONOMICAL STUDY OF SIDERITIS-MASSONIANA TAXA

Two varieties of Sideritis massoniana from Madeira (Madeira archipelag o) and one from Fuerteventura (Canary Islands) have been examined. Dit erpenes, triterpenes, sterols, flavonoids, coumarins and lignans have been isolated. A new coumarin, 7-demethyl-siderin acetate, and the unc ommon sterol, 7-oxo-beta-sitosterol, have been obtained from S. masson iana var. crassifolia. From the chemosystematic point of view these th ree taxa of Sideritis belong to one of the groups of the Canarian spec ies of this genus, and should be classified as three different species .