The Formation of Terpenoids and Their Role in the Metabolism of Pinus halepensis Mill

The results of chemical and ultrastructural research show thatin seedlings of Pinus halepensis growing on vermiculite andwater, nourished by the endosperm, the synthesis of resin proceedsas well in darkness as in light. Starved seedlings, which hadused all the endosperm, were grown without nutrients for tenadditional days in darkness. In these seedlings the quantityof terpenes was greater than in seedlings which were still nourishedby the endosperm. In spite of the long period of starvation,which lowered the density of the cytoplasm and of the numberof the organelles (in epithelial and other cells), the plantsdid not use the terpenoid constituents of the resin as substrates. Pinus halapensis Mill., resin synthesis, terpenoids