Plants, terrestrial polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Hydrocarbons found in the environment are of diverse structure and are widely distributed in the biosphere, predominantly as surface waxes of leaves, plant oils, cuticles of insects, and the lipids of microorganisms. Straight-chain HC, or alkanes, with carbon number maxima in the range of C17 to C21 are typically produced by aquatic algae. Conversely terrestrial plants typically produce alkanes with C25 to C33 maxima. Plants also synthesize aromatic HC such as carotenoids, lignin, aUcenoids, terpenes, and flavenoids. Polycyclic... 

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