The structure of the secretory elements and the essential oils of the needles and berries of Juniperus communis L. ssp. communis growing in north Iran were studied. The needles, which contain ducts and transfusion tissue, act as conduction structures, and the berries containing elongate tubercles which act as reservoirs of volatile oils. The essential oils, isolated by hydrodistillation, were analysed by GC-MS. The oil contained 41 and 27 components in the needles and berries, respectively. The needle oil consisted mainly of sabinene (40.7%), α-pinene (12.5%) and terpinen-4-ol (12.3%) and the berry oil included sabinene (36.8%), α-pinene (20%), limonene (10.6%), germacrene D (8.2%) and myrcene (4.8%) as the main components.

The structure of the glandular hairs and secretory canals and the essential oil of the aerial parts of Artemisia marschaliana growing in Iran were studied. The leaves of this plant had glandular hairs and the other kind of secretory tissues are canals which are seen in the stems and leaves and act in the conduction of volatile oils. The volatile constituents, isolated by hydrodistillation, were analysed by GC-MS. The oil was found to contain 20 components. The oil sample consisted mainly of sesquiterpene (62.7%), germacrene-D (23.7%), bicyclogermacrene (14.9%) and spathulenol (9.9%) as the main components.

The structure of the glandular trichomes and essential oil of the aerial parts of Marrubium cuneatum Russell were studied. Most secretory tissues are located in glandular trichomes. The essential oil isolated by steam distillation were analysed by GC-MS. Among 25 compounds identified, representing about 89% of the oil, the major components were bicyclogermacrene (37.9%) and germacrene D (24.1% Isolation of the Essential Oil and Preparing SlidesThe essential oil was obtained by water steam distillation of air-dried aerial parts (250 g) in an all-glass apparatus. The sample oil, which was light yellow in colour, was dried over anhydrous sodium sulphate and stored under nitrogen in a sealed vial until required. Fresh stems and leaves were placed in a formalin-acetic acid-ethyl alcohol mixture and slides were prepared by hand-cutting and stained in a alum carmine-methyl green combination (all of the chemicals used were from Merck). They were photographed at standard magnification using an Olympus automatic camera. Gas Chromatography-Mass SpectrometryGC-MS analysis was carried out on a Varian 3400 GC-MS system equipped with a DB-I fused silica column (60 m × 0.25 mm, film thickness 0.25 µm) and interfaced with a Varian ion trap detector. Oven temperature, 50-270°C at a rate of 4°C/min; injector and transfer line temperature, 280°C and 290°C; carrier gas, helium with a linear velocity of 31.5 cm/s; split ratio, 1:60; ionization energy, 70 eV; scan time, 1 s; mass range, 40-400 amu.

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A sample of essential oil obtained from aerial parts of Acroptilon repens (L.) DC. (Asteraceae) was examined by GC and GC/MS. Thirteen compounds were identified representing about 99.7% of the oil, with caryophyllene oxide (54.7%), α α α α α-copaene (14.8%) and β β β β β-caryophyllene (12.1%) as major constituents.