Chemical relationships between firs of Japan and Taiwan

Cortical essential oil from Abies sachalinensis, A. veitchii, A. mariesii, A. firma, A. homolepis, and A. Kawakamii was analyzed for its mono and sesquiterpenoid constituents. Qualitatively the essential oils were similar to those from the New World firs. Using percent composition of monoterpenoid hydrocarbons, it was possible to completely separate most of the mentioned taxa from each other. A method was developed for calculation of similarity coefficients and construction of taxonomic structure on the basis of biosynthetic relationships between individual components of cortical oleoresin. The resulting chemosystematic dendrograms reflected similarity in material flow through various biosynthetic intermediates and paralleled in many features the morphological similarity relationships between the species studied.