Abstract The isolation and structure elucidation of an alcohol from the air-dried Hawaiian alga Laurencia nidifica, was reported in 1976.1 Unassailable evidence for its identity as 3- methyl-5-(2, 3, 6-trimethylphenyl)-1-penten-3-01 (1), has been supplied by two syntheses, starting from 5, 8-dimethyl-1-tetralone2 and from 2, 6, 6-trimethyl-2, 4-cyclohexadienone, 3 respectively. We now wish to describe our approach toward this interesting sesquiterpene.
