The structure of the title compound, C23H32O4, an aryl­alkanone isolated from the petroleum ether fraction of the ethanol extract of the bark of Virola venosa, has been established by NMR spectroscopy and, for the first time, by X-ray structure analysis. Two independent mol­ecules of the same enantiomer are present in the unit cell. Both mol­ecules exhibit an intramolecular hydrogen bond, which can be correlated with a rare signal observed at 18.28 p.p.m. in the 1H NMR spectrum. The packing, in space group P1, is determined by a pseudo-center of symmetry leading to a short intermolecular contact, which is present in one mol­ecule but does not occur in the other. As a consequence, the O—C—C—O torsion angles [−16.9 (3) and −12.7 (3)°] through the ketone and its adjacent hydroxy group are significantly different in the two mol­ecules.