A C-glycoside in four species of Arachis

Abstract

A flavone C-glycoside was detected in four species of the genus Arachis. Due to the limited distribution of these compounds among different and definite groups of taxa, their significance as chemotaxonomic markers has been proved in several instances. The presence of this C-clycoside, which almost certainly is vitexin, in only four species of Arachis, a genus with about 30 species, seems to support that fact. A. benthamii and A. aquidauana are closely related and belong to the same section as A. guaranitica. The fourth species, A. martii differs from the rest, is quite difficult to place into any of the existing sections and might well be the only representative of a new section in Arachis.