Origin. Tetranthera polyantha var. citrata, Nees (family Lauraceae) is a shrub which grows in the Himalayas and in the Indian archipelago, more particularly in Java where it is known as ryi-Lemo/o. Its fruits, leaves and bark possess a strongly aromatic odor, due to volatile oil.

Oil of the Fruits

The fruits are sometimes designated as citronella fruits and, in India, are regarded as a panacea. Upon distillation they yield 3,9 to 5,5 p.c. of an oil with a strong odor resembling that of verbena oil. Hence it is also called Java verbena oil. d15o 0,885 to 0,896; aD + 6 to +13°; aldehyde content determined with bisulphite 73 to 86 p.c, with sulphite 64 to 75 p.c. The oil contains citral3) but no citronellal4). In addition it contains 19 p.c. of alcohol, presumably geraniol, and 2 p.c. of ester4).

Oil of the Bark

Yield 0,135) to 0,81 p.c.6); d15o0,866 to 0,9067); aD + 10 to + 21°; E.V. after acetylation 230 to 252. judging from the melting point of the naphthocinchoninic acid, which lay between 220 and 225°, Schimmel & Co.1) concluded that the aldehydes of the oil consist of a mixture of citral and citronellal. E. Charabot and G. Laloue2) confirm this supposition. In one oil they found 8 p.c. citral, 10 p.c. citronellal, 56,5 p.c. alcohols C10H18O (gera-niol?) and 2,4 p.c. esters.

1) According to de Clerq (Nieuw plantkundig woordenboek voor Neder-landsch-Indie, Amsterdam 1909, p. 310) the word Trawas is also used to designate a fern, viz., the Polypodium quercifolium, L. and possibly also the dried leaves of Tetranthera brawas, Bl.

2) Report of Schimmel & Co. April 1912, 121.

3) Schimmel's Bericht October 1888, 44. The specific gravity, viz., 0,980, recorded in this report presumably is due to a misprint and should read 0,890. In two distillates obtained later 0,894 and 0,896 were found.

4) Compt. rend. 146 (1908), 349. - Bull. Soc. chim. IV. 3 (1908), 383. - Berichte von Roure-Bertrand Fils October 1907, 20.

8) Jaarboek dep. Landb. in Ned.-Indie, Batavia 1907, 67. 6) Report of Schimmel & Co. April 1905, 87. 7) Ibidem April 1909, 87.

Oil of the Leaves

Yield 5,4 p.c.1); d16.0,899 to 0,904; aD - 12 to - 16°. It contains cineol (m. p. of iodol compound 1110)1). One oil, tested according to the phosphoric acid method, yielded 21,2 p.c.2); another oil yielded 35 p.c. regenerated from the solid resorcinol compound3). Citral was likewise present (m.p. of naphthocin-choninic acid 198 to 200°)l) but not citronellal. Twice'2)1) 6 p.c. of aldehyde were found (sulphite method), once4) 22 p.c. In one oil the acetylation method revealed the presence of 21,2 p.c. alcohol C10H18O (geraniol?).