Analysis of Terpenoids from Seedcoats as a Means of Identifying Seed Origin

Methods were developed for gas-liquid chromatography analysis of terpenoids contained in seedcoats of several species of firs and of Douglas-fir. Seed lots of grand fir and white fir, seed lots of California red fir and noble fir, and seed lots of inland and coastal Douglas-fir could be distinguished from each other. For California red fir and noble fir the variability between individual seeds of the same tree was found to be appreciably less than variability between seeds from different trees of the same locality. The methodology has a potential for distinguishing seed provenances. Forest Sci. 25:20-24.