620
W. SANDERMANN
the mycelium of Penicillium griseofulvum Dierck (75, 76). In the case
of mycophenolic acid (from Penicillium brevi-compactum), which contains only a fraction of a terpenoid (C 7 ) (76), classification is not possible since the terpenoid fraction could also stem from a carotenoid. The
same is true for methylheptenone, a metabolic product of the fungi
Endoconidiophora coerulescens Munch and E. rirescens Davidson. As
for diterpene derivatives, rosenonolactone was found (in Trichothecium
roseum L.) (76, 77). In the same fungus, trichothecin was found,
presumably derived from a sesquiterpene (76). Gibberellic acid, occurring in Gibberella fujikuroi, is a diterpene derivative, which commands
interest as a growth substance (76, 78). In the fern group only one is
known (Paesea scaberula from New Zealand) in which oxidized sesquiterpenes have been demonstrated with certainty (79).
Only the phylogenetically more recent higher plants produce, beyond the physiologically necessary terpenoids—phytol, carotene, and
sterols—considerable amounts of mono-, sesqui-, and diterpene compounds. The great mutation necessary for the manufacture of these excretion products could take place only after the plant had attained the
means for discarding and taking up the excretion products (80). The
terpene compounds (essential oils and resins) occurring in large
amounts, for example, in conifers could in no instance be identified as
storage products. Teleologic explanations for the significance of the
terpenes in wound healing and evaporation of water have been refuted.
According to present knowledge the terpenes are genuine extracts, i.e.,
indifferent "ballast" in a prolific metabolic scheme. This does not exclude the possibility that in certain cases terpenes and terpenoids can
promote the perpetuation of a species. This holds particularly for sterols
and their derivatives (vitamin D, hormones, bile acids, etc.).
Today it is generally conceded that systematically related plants
possess similar chemism and thus produce similar materials. The field of
investigation concerned with these relationships is designated chemotaxonomy (81). According to Halliez (82), taxonomic studies should
obey the rule that simply constructed substances are more widely distributed and systematically less valuable than complex substances
formed in long chains of reactions. The latter usually do not exceed the
bounds of a genus or family. Fertile fields of chemotaxonomic investigation are to be found in groups such as Strophanthus, Digitalis,
Rauwolfia, Veratrum, Pinaceae, Agavaceae (saponins), etc. (81).
Among more recent works, those by Erdtman on heartwood materials of
conifers (83), by Korte on glycosides (84), and by Bathe-Smith on
polyphenols (85) should be mentioned.
Since terpenes such as limonene, pinene, and the like are found in
W. SANDERMANN
the mycelium of Penicillium griseofulvum Dierck (75, 76). In the case
of mycophenolic acid (from Penicillium brevi-compactum), which contains only a fraction of a terpenoid (C 7 ) (76), classification is not possible since the terpenoid fraction could also stem from a carotenoid. The
same is true for methylheptenone, a metabolic product of the fungi
Endoconidiophora coerulescens Munch and E. rirescens Davidson. As
for diterpene derivatives, rosenonolactone was found (in Trichothecium
roseum L.) (76, 77). In the same fungus, trichothecin was found,
presumably derived from a sesquiterpene (76). Gibberellic acid, occurring in Gibberella fujikuroi, is a diterpene derivative, which commands
interest as a growth substance (76, 78). In the fern group only one is
known (Paesea scaberula from New Zealand) in which oxidized sesquiterpenes have been demonstrated with certainty (79).
Only the phylogenetically more recent higher plants produce, beyond the physiologically necessary terpenoids—phytol, carotene, and
sterols—considerable amounts of mono-, sesqui-, and diterpene compounds. The great mutation necessary for the manufacture of these excretion products could take place only after the plant had attained the
means for discarding and taking up the excretion products (80). The
terpene compounds (essential oils and resins) occurring in large
amounts, for example, in conifers could in no instance be identified as
storage products. Teleologic explanations for the significance of the
terpenes in wound healing and evaporation of water have been refuted.
According to present knowledge the terpenes are genuine extracts, i.e.,
indifferent "ballast" in a prolific metabolic scheme. This does not exclude the possibility that in certain cases terpenes and terpenoids can
promote the perpetuation of a species. This holds particularly for sterols
and their derivatives (vitamin D, hormones, bile acids, etc.).
Today it is generally conceded that systematically related plants
possess similar chemism and thus produce similar materials. The field of
investigation concerned with these relationships is designated chemotaxonomy (81). According to Halliez (82), taxonomic studies should
obey the rule that simply constructed substances are more widely distributed and systematically less valuable than complex substances
formed in long chains of reactions. The latter usually do not exceed the
bounds of a genus or family. Fertile fields of chemotaxonomic investigation are to be found in groups such as Strophanthus, Digitalis,
Rauwolfia, Veratrum, Pinaceae, Agavaceae (saponins), etc. (81).
Among more recent works, those by Erdtman on heartwood materials of
conifers (83), by Korte on glycosides (84), and by Bathe-Smith on
polyphenols (85) should be mentioned.
Since terpenes such as limonene, pinene, and the like are found in