Morphological, Indumentum and Chemical Characteristics and Analysis of the Volatile Components of the Flowers of Rhododendron ponticum L. subsp ponticum (Ericaceae) of Turkish Origin

Abstract

Morphological, chemical and indumentum characteristics of Rhododendron ponticum L. subsp. ponticum collected from Bartin province have been investigated. A detailed description of the species has been prepared and compared with that published in the Flora of Turkey of Davis in a tabular form. The taxonomic and morphological characteristics of the plant material have been described and illustrated by drawings. Indumentum characteristics were also investigated.Volatiles of the flowers were trapped by a dynamic headspace SPME setup and their hexane extract were analyzed by GC/MS. Main components of the headspace trapped volatiles of flowers were characterized as alpha-pinene (44.5 %), beta-pinene (10.8%), linalool (4%) and limonene (3.3%) whereas main components in volatiles of the hexane extract were linalool (19.6%), phenylethyl alcohol (19.1%), myrtenol (10.1%). citronellol (9.4%) and phenylacetaldehyde (7.8%).