The ecological and taxonomic importance of flower volatiles of Clusia species (Guttiferae).

The chemical composition of floral volatiles of sixteen species of Clusia (Guttiferae) belonging to four different taxonomic sections of the genus was investigated. The volatiles were extracted from fresh petals by microhydrodistillation and analysed by GC/MS. The composition of the volatiles was in part, but not always, related to the taxonomic position of the species, and to a minor extent to the type of pollinator observed on the flowers as revealed by clustering analysis. The composition of the volatile components of female and male flowers belonging to the same species (C. grandiflora, C. lanceolata, C. paralicola, C. parviflora and C. spiritu-sanctensis) was found to be almost identical. Field bioassays showed the petal extracts to be attractive to pollinating bees.