The Geography of Phytochemical Races

2.4 The Mediterranean Basin 53
Fig. 2.31 Compounds 111–116, withanolides from Withania somnifera
Fig. 2.32 Compounds 117
and 118 from Foeniculum
vulgare
characteristic of plants from the Negev Desert and northern coastal plain, and an
estragole type [118] (see Fig. 2.32 for structures 117 and 118) found in populations
on Mt. Dov in the northeastern part of the country (Fig. 2.30). The authors suggest
that the two consistent chemotypes remain isolated because of the strong northwesterly
winds during the fl owering season that prevent pollinators from carrying
from pollen the northeastern populations to the coast. The two signal compounds
differ only in the position of an unsaturation on the side chain, a difference whose
biosynthetic background would be of interest to determine, particularly in view of
their apparent genetic stability.
2.4.3 Genista (Fabaceae)
This example concerns the distribution of alkaloids in two species from Genista sect.
Erinacoides (Fabaceae) (Gibbs, 1966), namely G. lobelii DC. and G. salzmannii DC.,