Variability of Cortex Terpene Composition in Cupressus sempervirens L. provenances grown in Crete, Greece

The terpene composition of twigs in 106 trees from 6 provenances of Cupressus sempervirens L. grown in the island Crete of Greece was determined by GLC-MS analysis. The aim was to investigate the utility of cortex terpene composition to study the genetic variation between cypress provenances. Twenty nine compounds were detected in cortex resin of all trees, twenty one of which identified. The major constituents were cedrol, α-pinene, 3-δ-carene and α-terpinyl acetate. A cluster analysis based on the amounts of the four evaluated compounds classified all the trees in five chemotypes. The chemotype pattern for every provenance was determined. Based on distribution of chemotypes two main groups of provenances can be suggested.