Cyclitols from tanekaha

Abstract

The vegetable world may easily be divided into two large divisions, plants without flowers and plants with flowers. The flowering plants may be again sub-divided into two important classes: a) Gymnosperms, in which the ovules are not enclosed in an ovary, such as pines and firs, and b) Angiosperms, in which the ovules are enclosed in an ovary. This latter class includes the majority of all the flowering plants on the surface of the earth. However one particular order of the Gymnosperms, the Coniferales, includes a large group of trees commercially very useful for lumber production. These are the so-called "softwoods" of commerce. They are widely distributed and the juices of the trees are almost invariably resinous, and are used in the manufacture of pitch, Canada balsam and turpentine. The New Zealand Coniferales include Tanekaha, Kauri, Kahikatea, Totara, Rimu, Matai and Miro.