Taxus L. is accepted in the literature as natural resources of biologically active compounds and volatile oils, with applications in medicine, pharmaceuticals, food, cosmetics, and with ecological impact on the natural living environment. In this context, the present work aims to analyze by GS/MS techniques the chemical composition of volatile oil obtained by hydrodistillation of leaves harvested from spontaneous and cultivated female individuals of Taxus (dried and fresh plant material) and to spectrophotometrically evaluate the hydrosols resulting from their hydrodistillation. The compounds with the highest concentrations in the volatile oil obtained from the spontaneous taxon Taxus baccata L. were hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (33.03% fresh leaves; 20.09% dried leaves); ar-abietatriene (14.98% dried leaves; 3.03% fresh leaves); phthalic acid, hex-3-yl isobutyl ester (10.51% dried leaves); salicylic acid, benzyl ester (8.11% dried leaves). In the cultivated taxon Taxus baccata the compounds identified with the highest concentrations were 1-octen-3-ol (25.61% fresh leaves); phytol (12.50% dry leaves); geranyl acetone (11.90% dry leaves); manoyl oxide (11.85% dry leaves; 10.86% fresh leaves); 1,9-decadence (7.92% fresh leaves). The compounds with the highest concentrations in the oil extracted from the leaves of Taxus baccata ‘Robusta’ were hexahydrofarnesyl acetone (17.81% fresh leaves); pentacosane (11.28% dry leaves); heptacosane (11.27% fresh leaves); tetracosane (11.13% dry leaves); tricosane (8.45% fresh leaves). The chemical composition of volatile oils from yew is influenced by many exogenous factors such as soil, light, and endogenous factors such as age, DNA.

The genus Scutellaria L. comprises about 400 - 500 species, some of which are of practical value due to their biological activities. To prevent misidentification and contamination of plant material harvested from species of this genus, knowledge of the morphological and micromorphological characters of the seeds has proved useful. The present paper aims to perform a morphological and micromorphological characterization of seeds belonging to 12 taxa of the genus Scutellaria L., with the idea of completing the literature data and discussing the importance of these characters. The seeds of the analysed taxa showed different colours (yellow, black, brown) and ornamentations (generated by the arrangement and shape of the epidermal papillae). In some taxa, the seeds were glabrous (Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, S. resinosa Torr., S. suffrutescens S. Watson., S. incana Spreng., S. integrifolia L.), others showed tector hairs concentrated in the apical region of the epidermal papillae (S. altissima L.) or distributed over the entire surface (S. orientalis L., S. supina L., S. orientalis L. var. pinnatifida Rchb.), covering the whole or part (S. pontica K. Koch.) of the seed surface. Sessile glands were observed in S. galericulata L., among the papillae, whereas S. alpina L., presented stellate hairs. Seed sizes also varied between the taxa. The results obtained confirm the taxonomic importance of the analysed features but indicate that the correct identification of Scutellaria species cannot be performed based only on seed characteristics, requiring additional research and observations.

The genus Scutellaria L. occupies an isolated position within the family Lamiaceae, whereas the aerial organs of many species remain largely unexplored despite their potential as sources of bioactive metabolites. This study provides the first comprehensive comparison of 20 volatile oils and their corresponding 20 hydrosols obtained by hydrodistillation from different organs of three Scutellaria species cultivated at NBGI (Republic of Moldova). GC–MS analysis identified eleven classes of secondary metabolites. S. altissima L. was characterized by linalool as the principal constituent in volatile oils (20.24–29.96%) and hydrosols (55.36–61.72%). S. baicalensis Georgi produced sesquiterpene-rich volatile oils primarily composed of β-caryophyllene (23.44–37.99%) and germacrene D (6.83–22.42%), whereas its hydrosols contained high relative abundances of 1-octen-3-ol (24.54–59.32%). The volatile oils of S. supina L. were characterized by high relative abundances of germacrene D (up to 33.16%), β-caryophyllene (up to 21.72%), linalool (up to 21.95%), and spathulenol (up to 11.36%). In contrast, hydrosols contained high relative abundances of 1-octen-3-ol (17.39–71.10%) and linalool (5.86–45.49%). Hierarchical cluster analysis distinguished volatile oils from hydrosols and revealed species-specific volatile profiles, with organ-related variation being primarily quantitative. These results underscore the potential of aerial organs and hydrosols for future investigations.

Photosynthesis, the process by which green plants synthesize carbohydrates from the carbon dioxide available in the environment using light energy as a fixed energy source with the help of photoassimilate pigments, underlies all food chains in nature. The good functioning of plants (in this paper, spontaneous and cultivated taxa of the genus Taxus L.) in their vegetation areas is influenced, at the same time, by the level of their relationship with the environment regarding water exchange, as a vital factor for the existence of the vegetation cover on Earth. As a result, the basic physiological processes (photosynthesis, transpiration) depend to a large extent on the anatomical and micro-morphological characteristics of their leaf apparatus, on certain internal factors relating to the leaf surface, and on a series of external factors, which manifest themselves in the environment of the taxa concerned, to which they have developed specific morpho-structural and functional adaptations.