376 IV. WAXES, HIGHER ALCOHOLS, ETC. 



non-saponifiable material, of which the hydrocarbons comprise 48.6%. 

 Hentriacontane, CH3(CH2)29CH3, occurs^*^ to the extent of 40%, while 

 tritriacontane, CH3(CH2)3iCH3, is hkewise present.^ Sitosterol, C29H49OH, 

 is found combined with dihydroxymyricinoleic acid, C30H62O4, to the ex- 

 tent^^^ of 20%, while a second ester is myricyl dihydroxymyricinoleate. 

 A lactone, identified as 5-hydroxy-7-myricinolactone, probably originates 

 from dihydroxymyricinoleic acid, and is present to. the extent of 5-6%. 



H H 

 CH3(CH2)2jCHj- C • C • CHj- CH^C^O 



OH i 1 



5-Hydroxy-7-myricinolactone 



Because of its high melting point, candelilla wax is employed to harden 

 other waxes. Like carnauba wax, it is used in shoe polishes, floor pastes, for 

 phonograph records, sealing wax, candles, electrical insulators, waterproof 

 boxes, and in the textile industry. 



b'. Other Related Waxes: Alcocer wax is obtained from the plant stems 

 of Euphorbia cerijera Alcocer ("jerba"). It is almost identical with can- 

 delilla wax. Madagascar waxes are obtained from the stems of a wild 

 desert plant, the swallow wort {Cyanchum messeri Asclep.), the fiat-stem 

 euphorbia (Euphorbia xylophylloides Brongn.), and the "rhimba" tree 

 {E. stenoclada) .^"^"^ The wax is especially hard (m.p., 88 °C.); it possesses 

 considerable luster, and includes the sterol sitosterol^ in its composition. ' 



Snow-brush wax can be obtained in large yield from the surface of the 

 Ceanothus velutinus Douglas. It is widely distributed in California forests, 

 and its waxy covering causes it to be a fire menace. It contains 5 to 6% 

 of a triterpenoid, which is a- or /3-amyrin isovalerate. Flax wax is present 

 on the outer epidermal layer of Linum usitatissimum L. It contains the 

 alcohols neocerjd, ceryl, and myricyl, a hydrocarbon triacontane, and the 

 acids cerotic, stearic, palmitic, and linoleic.^** 



Cotton wax is obtained from the cotton fiber of Gossypium species. It 

 contains the alcohols montanyl, C28H57OH, ceryl, carnaubyl, and one dis- 

 covered by Fargher and Probert^*^ for which they proposed the name 

 gossypyl alcohol. It has the foraiula CsoHeiOH; the 7-form has likewise 

 been reported in the corms of the Indian jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema 

 triphyllum (L.) Schott.). A number of acids, including palmitic, stearic, 

 cerotic (C26), montanic (Cis), gossypic (C30), and a C34acid, occur in the free 



s« G. S. Fraps and L. R. Rather, Ind. Eng. Chem., 2, 454-455 (1910). 



3« R. Berg, Chem.-ZUj., 38, 1162-1163 (1914); Chem. AbsL, 9, 728 (1915). 



3" A. Hebert and F. Ileim, Bull. I'office col, 8, No. 86, 96-101 (1915); /. Soc. Chem. 

 Ind., 34, 1061 (1915). 



3^8 M. M. Chilikin and L. D. Kamolova, Khun. Rejeral. Zhur., U. S. S. R., 1939, No. 

 6, 117; Chem. AbsL, 34, 3939 (1940). 



3« R. G. Fargher and M. E. Probert, J. Textile Inst., U, 49-65T (1923); Chem.. AbsL, 

 17, 1890-1891 (1923). 



