Cutan is one of two polymer

Polymer

A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...

s which occur in the cuticle

Plant cuticle

Plant cuticles are a protective waxy covering produced only by the epidermal cells of leaves, young shoots and all other aerial plant organs without periderm...

 of some plants. The other and better-known polymer is Cutin

Cutin

Cutin is one of two waxy polymers that are the main components of the plant cuticle, which covers all aerial surfaces of plants. The other major cuticle polymer is cutan, which is much more readily preserved in the fossil record,...

. Cutan is believed to be a hydrocarbon

Hydrocarbon

In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls....

 polymer, whereas cutin is a polyester

Polyester

Polyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...

, but the structure and synthesis of cutan are not yet fully understood. Cutin is not present in as many plants as once thought; for instance it is absent in Ginkgo

Ginkgo

Ginkgo , also spelled gingko and known as the Maidenhair Tree, is a unique species of tree with no close living relatives...

.

Cutan was first detected as a non-saponifiable

Saponification

Saponification is a process that produces soap, usually from fats and lye. In technical terms, saponification involves base hydrolysis of triglycerides, which are esters of fatty acids, to form the sodium salt of a carboxylate. In addition to soap, such traditional saponification processes...

 component, resistant to de-esterification by alkaline hydrolysis, that increases in amount in cuticles of some species such as Clivia miniata

Clivia miniata

Clivia miniata is a species of clivia, from South Africa. It grows to a height of about 45cm in the shade of trees and shrubs, and flowers are red, orange or yellow, with a faint, but very sweet perfume...

as they reach maturity, apparently replacing the cutin secreted in the early stages of cuticle development (Schmidt and Schönherr, 1982). Evidence that cutan is a hydrocarbon polymer comes from the fact that its flash pyrolysis

Pyrolysis

Pyrolysis is a thermochemical decomposition of organic material at elevated temperatures without the participation of oxygen. It involves the simultaneous change of chemical composition and physical phase, and is irreversible...

 products are a characteristic homologous series

Homologous series

In chemistry, a homologous series is a series of compounds with a similar general formula, possessing similar chemical properties due to the presence of the same functional group, and showing a gradation in physical properties as a result of increase in molecular size and mass...

 of paired alkane

Alkane

Alkanes are chemical compounds that consist only of hydrogen and carbon atoms and are bonded exclusively by single bonds without any cycles...

s and alkene

Alkene

In organic chemistry, an alkene, olefin, or olefine is an unsaturated chemical compound containing at least one carbon-to-carbon double bond...

s (Nip et al. 1986)

Its preservation potential is much greater than that of cutin.