FLAVONOID CHEMISTRY OF THE ENDEMIC SPECIES OF MYRCEUGENIA (MYRTACEAE)OF THE JUAN-FERNANDEZ-ISLANDS AND RELATIVES IN CONTINENTAL SOUTH-AMERICA

Twenty-one flavonoids were isolated from the 'leaves of two endemic sp ecies of Myrceugenia on the Juan Fernandez Islands, M. fernandeziana a nd M. schulzei, from two related species from Brazil, M. campestris an d M. rufescens, and from five species from continental Chile, M. colch aguensis, M. exsucca, M. lanceolata, M. pinifolia, and M. rufa. A phen etic analysis was used to evaluate chemical similarities. Myrceugenia campestris and M. rufescens appear most closely related to each other based on flavonoid profiles, and they are also different from the othe r seven species. The two endemic species in the Juan Fernandez Islands , M. fernandeziana and M. schulzei, group with the continental Chilean species. The former is most closely related to M. lanceolata, and the latter clusters with M. exsucca, although somewhat distantly. The res ults suggest that the two Juan Fernandez endemics are derived from two introductions from the Chilean continent and not from immigrants from the eastern side of the Andes.