Daphne mezereum L. - Thymelaeaceae - mezereon, february daphne, **Gemeiner Seidelbast**, Kellerhals

Deciduous shrub, 0.40-1.20m high, native to Europe and Western Asia; flowers cauliflor, dark pink or sometimes white, produced in early spring before the leaves; fruits red, ovoid.

The main volatile compounds of a dynamic headspace concentrate from D.mezereum flowers were linalool (49%), (E)-β-ocimene (16%), 2-phenylethanol (4%), jasmone (3%), benzyl alcohol (2%), and cinnamic alcohol (0.3%). \\
[Volatile constituents of European bird cherry flowers (Padus avium Mill.). Surburg, H., Güntert, M., Schwarze, B.,Journal of Essential Oil Research, Vol.2(6), 1990, 307-316] 

"The floral fragrance of the shrub Daphne mezereum in central Sweden was collected by means of the head-space technique and investigated by GC-MS and multi-dimensional GC. (S)-(+)-Linalool was the main constituent (95%) of the flower fragrance and its enantiomeric purity exceeded 99% in the samples. The (2S,5S)- and (2R,5S)-furanoid and the (3R,6S)- and (3S,6S)-pyranoid linalool oxide isomers constituted 2-5% of the fragrance."  \\
[Floral fragrance chemistry in the early flowering shrub //Daphne mezereum//. Borg-Karlson, A. K., Unelius, C. R., Valterová, I., Anders Nilsson, L., Phytochemistry, Vol.41(6), 1996, 1477-1483]

{{:linalool_isomers.jpg|}} \\ 
[[http://www.leffingwell.com/chirality/linalool.htm|linalool stereo isomers]]: (S)-(+)-linalool (coriandrol: sweet, floral) and (R)-(-)-linalool (licareol: floral, woody lavender)

The main volatile compounds from D.mezereum flower scent, collected by the dynamic headspace method, were linalool (85.6%), (E)-β-ocimene (6.7%), hexadecane (3.7%), benzyl alcohol (0.9%), (E,E)-α-farnesene (0.7%), lavandulol (0.5%), (Z)-β-ocimene (0.6%), cinnamic alcohol (0.4%) and 2-phenylethanol (0.4%). \\
[Floral scents in butterfly‐pollinated plants: possible convergence in chemical composition., Andersson, S., Nilsson, L.A., Groth, I., Bergström, G., Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 140(2), 2002, 129-153]

{{:daphne_mezereum.jpg?600}} \\
Duhamel du Monceau,H.L., Traité des arbres et arbustes, Nouvelle édition [Nouveau Duhamel], vol.1 t.8 (1800-1803) [Redouté] \\
[[http://plantgenera.org/species.php?id_species=320908]]


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Daphne mezereum \\ © Rolf Marschner (2005),  
[[http://botanische-spaziergaenge.at/viewtopic.php?f=449&t=1559| www.botanische-spaziergaenge.at]]