Chemical variability of the Tahitian Marchantia hexaptera Reich.

The liverwort species, Marchantia hexaptera, is endemic for French Polynesia, where it occurs on the islands of Tahiti and Moorea. Fingerprinting of Tahitian populations of M. hexaptera using GC/MS indicated considerable variation in the composition of volatile components. Based on the differences in chemical profiles three chemotypes of M. hexaptera were recognized, and chemosystematic markers for these chemotypes are suggested.