The present study aims to assess the relationship between soil chemical characteristics and associated species and the essential oils of Deverra tortuosa (Desf.) DC. in two Egyptian deserts.
Plant samples were collected for chemical analysis from two desert habitats differing in climatic and edaphic conditions: coastal (West of Alexandria) and inland (Wadi Hagul) in the eastern desert.
D. tortuosa is recoded as a common associate in most of plant communities. Higher associated plant species were recorded in the coastal desert (32 species) compared with 15 species in inland desert. Soil chemical properties were generally higher in the coastal desert except pH and sulphates showed higher values in inland desert.
Forty essential oils from D. tortuosa were recorded in both inland and coastal desert habitats, of which 21were restricted to inland desert, 10 were found in coastal desert and nine are represented in both habitats. The obtained results will optimized the application of Deverra tortuosaas a source of essential oils.