FLORAL FRAGRANCE CHEMISTRY IN THE EARLY FLOWERING SHRUB DAPHNE MEZEREUM

The floral fragrance of the shrub Daphne mezereum in central Sweden wa s collected by means of the head-space technique and investigated by G C-MS and multi-dimensional GC. (S)-(+)-Linalool was the main constitue nt (95%) of the flower fragrance and its enantiomeric purity exceeded 99% in the samples. The (2S, 5S)- and (2R, 5S)-furanoid and the (3R, 6 S)- and (3S, 6S)-pyranoid linalool oxide isomers constituted 2-5% of t he fragrance. The elution order of these compounds on a permethylated beta-cyclodextrin column is reported. A fragrance sample of D. mezereu m as well as (S)-(+)-linalool attracted males of the vernal solitary b ee species Colletes cunicalarius and Andrena cinerea. A racemic mixtur e of the two enantiomeric pairs of known furanoid linalool oxides was only weakly attractive to the bees. The role of the fragrance in the p ollination specialization of the plant is discussed.