PONDERING THE MONOTERPENE COMPOSITION OF PINUS SEROTINA MICHX.:CAN LIMONENE BE USED AS A CHEMOTAXONOMIC MARKER FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF OLD TURPENTINE STUMPS?

Wood samples from old turpentine stumps in Virginia were analyzed by GC-MS to determine if the monoterpene compositions could be used for species identifi cation. Given that limonene is reported to be the predominant monoterpene for pond pine (Pinus serotina Michx.), low relative proportions of limonene in these samples appeared to suggest that these stumps were not from pond pine. Unexpectedly, analysis of wood samples from live trees identifi ed as pond pine did not consistently confi rm a high relative proportion of limonene. Further sampling of half-sib pond pine trees suggested that limonene may be an unreliable chemotaxonomic marker for pond pine hybrids.