The extent of the variability has been studied in a population of variant strains of Choisya ternata obtained from two cell lines. The cultures differed from each other in morphological, physiological and biochemical traits. In particular, some of them yielded one of the two dihydrofuroquinoline alkaloids (platydesminiuro) in greater amounts than the whole plant while the other alkaloid (balfourodinium) was always produced in much lower quantities than in the whole plant or in cultures of rootless foliated stems. The variants obtained from the first line biotransformed ellipticine and gave rise to protoplast-derived clones more easily than the variants originating from the second line. Neither photoautotrophy, nor habituation, nor growth rate were correlated with alkaloid accumulation: these characters cannot be used for the selection of high-producing cultures. On the other hand, a photoautotrophic strain accumulated three free sterols not detected in the others or in the plant. © 1987.