676 



BOTANY AND PHARMACOGNOSY. 



Constituents. — Turpentine consists of 70 to 80 per cent, of 

 resin and 15 to 30 per cent, of volatile oil; it also contians a bitter 

 principle and various organic acids, as pinic, sylvic, etc. 



Oil of Turpentine is obtained chiefly from the following 

 pines growing in the Southern States : Piniis pahistris, P. glabra, 

 P. cubensis, P cchinata and P Tceda. The important constituent 

 is the hydrocarbon pinene (CioHje), which in the oil from some 

 plants is dextro-rotatory, while in that from other plants it is 



Fig. 276. Typical view in the Adirondacks showing the spire-like balsams (Abies 

 balsamea) and a single white pine iPinus Strohus). 



Isevo-rotatory. On allowing a moisture-containing oil to stand 

 exposed to the light, crystals of pinol hydrate separate out in the 

 course of time. 



Allied Plants. — Various other species of Pinus yield an 

 oleo-resin resembling turpentine, as Pinus Tceda, a tree (Fig. 51, 

 F) growing in the regions where Pinus pahistris is found; the 

 yield of oleo-resin from this and other trees is considerably less. 

 Pinus syh'estris, or Scotch fir, which is indigenous to the moun- 

 tains of Europe and Asia and extensively cultivated in this coun- 

 try, is the source of much of the turpentine used in Europe. 



