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Plants have been used for their aromatic and medicinal purposes for centuries. The genus Pelargonium contains about 250-280 species and cultivated around the world for the production of essential oils and absolutes. Pelargonium species are remarkable for their odour diversity, from fresh, lemon and minty scent, through floral, rose, fruity up to spicy and camphoreous smell as well as many health beneficial properties, that is why their essential oils are widely used in perfume, cosmetic, food and pharmaceutical industries. The aim of this study was to determine variability in populations of Pelargonium genus by evaluating their differences in quantitative and qualitative essential oils compositions. This study determined that of all the examined essential oil, the one of P. graveolens indoor cultivar has the closest C:G ratio (1.16) which makes it a very valuable product. In comparison with available literature, beside the geographical region of plant growth, all essential oils from P. graveolens contain a diverse range of compounds, nevertheless, in every single one, geraniol and citronellol are present in the most significant fraction of the total oil. The examined P. roseum essential oil was characterized by the highest level of citronellol (44.62 % of total oil), but it can be due to the chemical reactions (conversion geraniol into citronellol) occurring in stored product.

This study focused on how the concentration of volatile oils in Scots Pine needles varied in relation to the age of the trees, the age of the needles and their location within the canopy. Study material were pine needles from 15-, 44- and 89-year-old pine stands. The mean content of oils increased with the age of trees. The averaged oil content in needles was: 0.46% in the 15-year-old stand, 0.55% in the 44-year-old and 0.61% in the 89-year-old stands. The mean content of volatile oils decreased with the age of the needles. 1-year-old needles contained the highest concentration of volatile oils (0.56%), and the 3-year-old needles contained the least (0.48%). In 15-year-old stands the oil content in needles increased linearly with their height in the canopy. In 44-year-old (age class IIb) and 89-year-old (age class Va) stands oil content was greater lower in the canopy than in the middle.