The Chemistry and the Chemical Exploitation of Western 
Ait st kalian Plants. 
87 
acids, together with pinene and eitronellol. From the oil of C. tetragona 
var. A , Penfold and Simonson have isolated the ketone calythrone. 
The only other genus of this family of which any species has been 
investigated fully is Agon/s, A. flexuosa ( S prong. ) Schau. having been 
examined by Parry and subsequently by Phillips (7). The oil contains up 
to 60 per cent, ol: cineole and shows a close general resemblance to tin* 
cineole-containing eucalyptus oils. 
A preliminary examination of the oil of Charnaelaucium uncinatum 
Schau. has shown it to consist mainly of torpenes, principally pinene, to- 
gether with an aldehyde, probably citronollal, alcohols and esters, including 
amyl acetate. 
Further genera of this family are known to produce volatile oils and 
the following should be worthy of investigation : — -.Leptospermum, Calliste- 
mon, Baeclcea and Darwinia. 
Family Rutaceak. 
The family Rutaceae is also of importance as an oil producer. The 
well known Boronia megastigma Noes is the only member of its genus to be 
examined chemically, Penfold (18) having shown the presence of — ion- 
one and an unidentified alcohol as the chief odoriferous constituents, with 
triacontane, plant sterols and fat as the natural fixatives. 
Penfold (19) has also examined the volatile oil of Geijera linearifolia 
(DC.) J.M. Black, the only representative of this genus in this State. 
Both the leaf and fruit oils of Phebalhim argenteum Sm. have been 
examined by Finlayson (20) and shown to consist mainly of terpenes (prin- 
cipally d-limonene) and sesquiterpenes, together with smaller amounts of 
geraniol, /-eitronellol and two unidentified sesquiterpene alcohols, esters of 
valeric and jw-caproic acids and methylheptyl and methvlnonyl ketones. 
Murray (16) has examined the leaf oil of P. fili folium Turcz. and has shown 
it to consist largely of hydrocarbons with small amounts of esters, alcohols 
and possibly a phenol. About 32 per cent, of the oil consisted of an uniden- 
tified hydrocarbon, b.p., 159-161°, from which no crystalline deriva- 
tives could be obtained. Murray states that the oils of P. micro phylhim 
Turcz. and P. Drummondii Benth. appear similar to that of' P. fili folium. 
The genera Phebalinm and Eriostnnon » are closely related but, although some 
Eastern Australian species of Eriostemon are known to yield oils of inter- 
est, none of the Western Australian species has been examined. 
Family Laihatae. 
This family is equally well known on account of its volatile oils. The 
chemistry of the oils of the introduced plants Mentha piperita L., M. pule- 
gium L. and Rosmarinus officinalis L. has been thoroughly worked out, but 
little work has been done on indigenous species. Hurst (21) records a 
private communication from A. R. Penfold that the oil of Mentha australis 
R.Br. consists largely of unidentified ketones, together with some alcohols 
and esters equivalent to about 12 per cent, of menthol. M. satureioides R.Br. 
(21) is, like M. australis, considered toxic to stock and Maiden (22) states 
that the oil is similar in properties to the oil of M. pulegium. Jones and 
Smith (23) have shown that it contains about 40 per cent, of pulegone as 
well as 1-menthone, 1 -menthol and menthyl acetate. 
