CHEMOTAXONOMIC SIGNIFICANCE OF LEAF WAX N-ALKANES IN THE UMBELLIFERAE, CRUCIFERAE AND LEGUMINOSAE (SUBF PAPILIONOIDEAE)

Leaf wax alkanes were extracted from 41 genera and 58 species belongin g to the Umbelliferae, from 35 genera and 61 species belonging to the Cruciferae and from 32 genera and 78 species belonging to the Legumino sae. n-Alkane composition was determined by GC and GC-MS. All families were characterized by the presence of C-29 and C-31; however, in the Umbelliferae, the C-29 content was greater and in the Cruciferae, it w as equal and in the Leguminosae, it was lower than that of C-31 The da ta matrix of the n-alkane percentages and total content was used to ca lculate for each family a cluster analysis. The results obtained confi rmed the usefulness of leaf wax alkanes as chemotaxonomic characters a t the familial, subfamilial and tribal revels. Copyright (C) 1986 Else vier Science Ltd