ESSENTIAL OIL OF LEPTOSPERMUM. 197 



The ESSENTIAL OILS of LEPTOSPERMUM 



FLAVESOENS var. GRANDIFLORUM and 



LEPTOSPERMUM ODORATUM. 



By A. R. Penfold, f.c.s. 



[Read before the Royal Society of A 7 . <S. Wales, December 1 , 1920 .] 



LEPTOSPERMUM FLAVESCENS Var. GRANDIFLORUM Beiltham. 

 (LEPTOSPERMUM GRANDIFLORUM Lodd.) 



The botany of this species, is described by Mr* E. Obeel in 

 the present proceedings of this Society. It is a shrub 

 varying from 6 to 10 feet in height, and like L. odoratum is 

 found frequenting the beds of creeks and rivers. It was 

 whilst gathering material of L. odoratum for oil distillation 

 that the species was met with and consequently leaves 

 were collected for the same purpose. 



Only one distillation was made and as the oil did not 

 possess any very special interest from an economic point 

 of view it was not thought worth while collecting further 

 supplies of leaves. The principal constituents are the two 

 sesquiterpenes, aromadendrene and eudesmene, together 

 with a sesquiterpene alcohol unidentified. As these sesqui- 

 terpenes of a high laevo rotation occur in quantity in the 

 oil of L. odoratum, the chemistry of which is dealt with 

 fully later in the present paper, it was considered advisable 

 on account of this connection to include this species at the 

 same time. 



The Essential Oil. 



60 fbs. of leaves were collected in the bed of the Nattai 

 River, near Hill Top, N.S.W., and the oil obtained was 

 equal to 0*61%. It was somewhat viscous and so dark in 

 -colour that its chemical and physical characters could not 



