typeracer

The botanical order Coniferales is composed of three families - Pinaceae, Taxodiaceae, and Cupressaceae. The tissues of trees of this order often produce aromatic, honeylike materials termed oleoresins, volatile parts of which are designated as turpentines or essential oils. Most of the chemical constituents of the essential oils are monoterpenoids. These compounds arise biosynthetically through a reaction sequence involving mevalonate, 3-isopentenyl pyrophosphate, and geranyl (or neryl) pyrophosphate, and most can be recognized because carbon skeletons of their formulas can be "dissected" into two isopentane - "isoprene" - units.