Wild Volatile-Oil Plants and Their Economic Importance

Part 1

U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY--BULLETIN NO. 235.

B. T. GALLOWAY, Chief of Bureau.

WILD VOLATILE-OIL PLANTS AND THEIR ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE: I.--BLACK SAGE; II.--WILD SAGE; III.--SWAMP BAY.

FRANK RABAK,

Chemical Biologist, Drug-Plant, Poisonous-Plant, Physiological, and Fermentation Investigations.

+Issued January 30, 1912.+

WASHINGTON:

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.

1912.

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.

Chief of Bureau, +Beverly T. Galloway+.

Assistant Chief of Bureau, +William A. Taylor+.

Editor, +J. E. Rockwell+.

Chief Clerk, +James E. Jones+.

+Drug-Plant, Poisonous-Plant, Physiological, and Fermentation Investigations.+

SCIENTIFIC STAFF.

Rodney H. True, Physiologist in Charge.

A. B. Clawson, Heinrich Hasselbring, C. Dwight Marsh, and W. W. Stockberger, Physiologists.

James Thompson and Walter Van Fleet, Experts.

Carl L. Alsberg, H. H. Bartlett, Otis F. Black, H. H. Bunzel, Frank Rabak, and A. F. Sievers, Chemical Biologists.

W. W. Eggleston, Assistant Botanist.

S. C. Hood, G. F. Mitchell, and T. B. Young, Scientific Assistants.

Alice Henkel and Hadleigh Marsh, Assistants.

G. A. Russell, Special Agent.

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.

+U. S. Department of Agriculture+, +Bureau of Plant Industry+, +Office of the Chief+, Washington, D. C., October 14, 1911.

+Sir+: I have the honor to transmit herewith and to recommend for publication as Bulletin No. 235 of the series of this Bureau a manuscript prepared by Mr. Frank Rabak, Chemical Biologist, entitled “Wild Volatile-Oil Plants and Their Economic Importance: I.--Black Sage; II.--Wild Sage; III.--Swamp Bay,” submitted by Dr. R. H. True, Physiologist in Charge of the Office of Drug-Plant, Poisonous-Plant, Physiological, and Fermentation Investigations.

Part 2

At present the various industries making use of volatile oils and their derivatives find their supply of these materials in products obtained from Old World plants grown in foreign lands. In some cases, because of the difficulty in producing these substances, it is likely that this commercial situation will persist for some time, but in other cases it seems likely that American resources may be capable of utilization. In our wild flora there are many oil-containing plants of considerable commercial promise and the purpose of this bulletin is to bring to notice the results of investigations which have been carried on with a number of these plants and to point out their commercial utility. It is presented as the first of a series, to be followed from time to time with the results of further investigations which are to be carried on with this class of plants and their products.

Respectfully, +B. T. Galloway+, Chief of Bureau. +Hon. James Wilson+, Secretary of Agriculture.

CONTENTS.

Page. Distribution of wild aromatic plants 7 Present production of volatile oils from wild plants native to the 7 United States Classification of volatile oils based on their odors and 8 constituents Commercial importance of volatile oils and their constituents 8 Plant sources of camphor, borneol, and cineol (eucalyptol) 10 Commercial uses of camphor, borneol, and cineol 13 Purpose of the investigation of wild aromatic plants native to the 14 United States Special investigations 14 Black sage 14 Botanical description and distribution 14 Distillation of the oil 14 Separation of stearoptene 15 Identification of camphor 15 Chemical examination of the oil 18 Chemical constants 18 Free acids 18 Combined acids 19 Fractionation of the oil 19 Identification and separation of the constituents 20 Pinene 20 Cineol, or eucalyptol 20 Camphor 20 Summary 21 Wild sage 21 Botanical description and distribution 21 Distillation of the oil 21 Separation of stearoptene 23 Identification of crystalline compound 23 Chemical examination of the oil 24 Chemical constants 24 Free acids 25 Combined acids 25 Fractionation of the volatile oil 26 Identification and separation of the constituents 27 Cineol 27 Fenchone 27 Borneol 28 Esters of borneol 28 Summary 28 Swamp bay 29 Botanical description and distribution 29 Distillation of the oil 30 Chemical examination of the oil 31 Chemical constants 31 Free acids 31 Combined acids 32 Soluble combined acids 32 Insoluble combined acids 32 Fractionation of the oil and separation of the stearoptene 32 Identification of the constituents of the oil 34 Camphor 34 Aldehyde constituent 34 Cineol, or eucalyptol 34 Borneol 35 Summary 35 Conclusions 36

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page. +Fig.+ 1. A plant of black sage (Ramona stachyoides) growing near 15 Riverside, Cal. 2. Flowering top of a plant of black sage 16 3. A plant of wild sage (Artemisia frigida) 22 4. A field of wild sage near Webster, S. Dak. 23 5. A swamp bay tree (Persea pubescens) growing near Orange 29 City, Fla. 6. A small branch of swamp bay 30

TABLES.

Page.

+Table.+ I. Comparison of properties of crystals from oil of black 17 sage and of pure camphor.

II. Fractionation of the oil of black sage, showing the 20 physical properties of the fractions.

III. Comparison of properties of crystals from oil of wild 24 sage and of pure borneol.

IV. Fractionation of oil of wild sage, showing the 27 physical and chemical properties of the fractions.

V. Fractionation of saponified oil of swamp bay and 33 description of fractions.

VI. Refractionation of the oil of swamp bay, showing the 34 physical properties of the fractions.

WILD VOLATILE-OIL PLANTS AND THEIR ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE: I.--BLACK SAGE; II.--WILD SAGE; III.--SWAMP BAY.

DISTRIBUTION OF WILD AROMATIC PLANTS.

There exists in the flora of the United States a large number of plant families which include species of highly odorous character, many of which are known and described botanically as possessing peculiar aromas, but which have received no attention from the standpoint of their volatile-oil content. The various sections of the country, with their marked differences of soil and climate, possess floras peculiar to themselves which, if investigated, would doubtless reveal many plants valuable for their volatile oils. For example, in Florida and the South Atlantic States are found many plants with agreeable odors which thrive only in the climate and soil of that region. The Central Western States produce numerous species of sages and other plants found only in arid and semiarid climates. In the extreme Western States are numerous wild aromatic plants, some of which have been distilled and analyses made of the oils obtained therefrom.

PRESENT PRODUCTION OF VOLATILE OILS FROM WILD PLANTS NATIVE TO THE UNITED STATES.

Only a very few of the wild plants native to this country have been distilled and their volatile oils used for commercial purposes. Among these may be mentioned longleaf pine, sassafras, wintergreen, sweet birch, pennyroyal, horsemint, and Canada fleabane.

The first and by far the most important oil distilled from a wild plant indigenous to the United States was turpentine oil, which was distilled as early as the middle of the eighteenth century. The production of this oil is rapidly declining, owing principally to the employment of very wasteful methods, which have resulted in the destruction of many of the large pine forests. Turpentine is still obtained, however, from the longleaf pine (Pinus palustris), which occurs quite abundantly in the South Atlantic States from Virginia to Florida. The price of this valuable oil has risen so rapidly in recent years, owing to the shortage of raw material from which it is distilled, that a suitable substitute would be most desirable. This problem is now receiving the attention of scientific research workers, but no satisfactory substitute which can supply the trade has yet been found.

The commercial distillation of sassafras, wintergreen, and sweet birch possibly rank next in importance, although the oils are produced on a considerably smaller scale. These oils are used extensively by perfumers, confectioners, and manufacturers of toilet soaps. The plants are gathered in their native habitats and the quality of the oil depends upon the freedom from extraneous material, which can be insured only by extreme care in collection.

The production of pennyroyal and Canada fleabane oils from the wild plants is also carried on in a small way. The oils from these plants possess valuable therapeutic action and are used principally in medicinal preparations.

Horsemint and wild bergamot are wild aromatic plants which have been more recently distilled for their volatile oils. The use of these plants was brought about by the discovery that their oils contain, respectively, the valuable antiseptics thymol and carvacrol. The production of the oils, however, is not being carried on to any great extent.

These few species are practically the only wild aromatic plants of the United States which are at present being utilized for their volatile oils, and no attempt has yet been made to cultivate them in order to improve the quality or to increase the yield of the oils.

CLASSIFICATION OF VOLATILE OILS BASED ON THEIR ODORS AND CONSTITUENTS.

Volatile oils obtained from plants possess a great variety of odors, with no two exactly alike, although many are very closely related. A classification of these oils based on their odors is not satisfactory, since many which would not be considered as related if judged only by the sense of smell have chemical relationships, containing substances belonging to the same general class of chemical compounds. For our purpose volatile oils are divided into the following classes, basing the divisions upon odors and constituents. These groups comprise the majority of oils, but they are not arranged in the order of their importance:

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