THE WAX OF THE LEAVES OF PICEA PUNGENS (COLORADO SPRUCE)

A chloroform-soluble, neutral wax was isolated from the leaves of Colorado spruce, collected during fall and winter months. The wax was found to consist of sabinic, 14-hydroxytetradecanoic, and juniperic acids, with only minor amounts of non-saponifiables and n-fatty acids. 14-Hydroxytetradecanoic acid has not been found before in naturally occurring waxes. A cyclic structure rather than the linear etholides proposed for other conifer waxes is in accord with the analytical data. In the spring and summer months the wax was accompanied by an acidic fraction.