Plants growing in Western Australia are a treasure trove of complex molecules that can be isolated in sufficient amounts to explore their chemistry. One example is Scaevola crassifolia Labill., commonly known as the thick-leaved fan flower, is a member of the Goodeniaceae family which is a family rich in natural product diversity. The natural products of S. crassifolia were investigated, identifying several caryophyllenes. Raman spectroscopy was used for the first time to map the distribution of this specific class of natural product, on the surface resin of S. crassifolia leaves, which provides unique insights into its biology. Birkenal was also detected in the plant. The reaction of 6-hydroxycaryophyllene with manganese dioxide gave birkenal and suggests an alternative biosynthesis to that originally proposed. Another example is semisynthesis of the clerodane PL3,1 an HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor. A clerodane isolated from Dodonaea Ceratocarpa2 was converted to PL3, using a new deoxygenation method.