Deverra tortuosa

Names and Synonyms

Scientific Names

Accepted name

Synonyms

• Athamanta tortuosa
• Carum tortuosum
• Deverra tortuosa var. rigidior
• Deverra tortuosa subsp. arabica
• Bubon tortuosum
• Pituranthos tortuosus
• Deverra tortuosa var. virgata

Sources: Wikidata, Catalogue of Life

Taxonomical Classification

This plant belongs to the kingdom Plantae and is classified under the phylum Streptophyta and the class Equisetopsida. Within the subclass Magnoliidae, it is organized under the order Apiales and the family Apiaceae. Finally, it is identified by the genus Deverra, specifically the species Deverra tortuosa.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Distribution

This plant, Deverra tortuosa, exhibits a broad geographical distribution across parts of North Africa and Western Asia. In North Africa, it can be found growing within the territories of Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia. Moving toward the Levant, its range extends into Western Asia to include Lebanon and Syria. Additionally, the species is documented as being present in Palestine. Together, these regions define the specific environmental zones where this medicinal plant thrives.

Sources: The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP)

Botanical Identification

Life history

The life history of Deverra tortuosa is characterized by its status as a perennial species, allowing it to persist through multiple growing seasons within its natural habitat. As a perennial plant, it does not rely on a single reproductive cycle to complete its existence but rather maintains a continuous presence in the ecosystem, often developing robust structures to survive environmental fluctuations. This enduring lifecycle enables the plant to establish itself deeply in the substrate, facilitating repeated flowering and seeding processes over several years, which contributes to its long-term stability and population density in its native range.

Lifecycle :

perennial

Morphology

The morphology of Deverra tortuosa is characterized by a growth form that transitions between a shrub and a subshrub, exhibiting a non-woody structure. The plant functions as an independent organism, lacking any parasitic tendencies, and maintains a self-supporting climbing habit. Regarding its preferred ecological niche and habitat, the species displays a versatile distribution across aquatic, semiaquatic, and terrestrial environments.

Aquatic :

terrestrial

Climber :

self-supporting

Growth form :

shrub

Growth form :

subshrub

Parasite :

independent

Woodiness :

non-woody

Physiology

The physiology of Deverra tortuosa is characterized by a specialized metabolic framework adapted to its environmental conditions, specifically utilizing a C3 photosynthetic pathway. In this physiological process, carbon fixation occurs via the enzyme RuBisCO, where atmospheric carbon dioxide is directly incorporated into a five-carbon sugar, ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate, to form two molecules of 3-phosphoglycerate. This C3 mechanism dictates the plant's water-use efficiency and gas exchange strategies, as it relies on maintaining open stomata for CO2 uptake, which inherently increases transpiration rates. The metabolic efficiency of the plant is thus closely tied to its ability to manage thermal stress and moisture availability through these standard photosynthetic cycles.

Photosynthetic pathway :

C3

Reproduction

The reproduction of Deverra tortuosa is characterized by the production of minute seeds that exhibit complete uniformity in weight. Based on empirical data, the seed mass is extremely consistent, with a mean mass of 0.00055 g. This uniformity is absolute across the sampled population, as both the maximum and minimum recorded seed masses are identical at 0.00055 g. Such precise measurements indicate a highly standardized reproductive output in terms of individual seed weight for this species.

Seed mass mean:

0.00055 g

Sources: Global Inventory of Floras and Traits (GIFT)

Plant Parts

Deverra tortuosa has 3 reported plant parts identified across 3 scientific publications and several other databases that are studied for medicinal purposes. The most consistently reported plant part include leaf, seed, stem.

Leaf

1. Journal of plant research

Seed

1. Journal of plant research

Stem

1. PeerJ

Chemicals

Deverra tortuosa has 6 reported phytochemicals identified across 3 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported chemicals include 2-methyl-3-oxocyclopent-1-ene-1-carboxylic acid, Coumarins, Fatty acids, Flavonoid, METHYL OLEATE.

2-methyl-3-oxocyclopent-1-ene-1-carboxylic acid

1. Scientific reports

Coumarins

1. Tissue & cell

Fatty acids

1. Tissue & cell

Flavonoid

1. Tissue & cell

METHYL OLEATE

1. Scientific reports

Sterols

1. Tissue & cell

Activities

Deverra tortuosa has 3 reported activities identified across 3 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported activities include Antioxidant, Cytotoxic, Gastroprotective.

Antioxidant

1. Tissue & cell

Cytotoxic

1. Biomedical and environmental sciences : BES

Gastroprotective

1. Tissue & cell

Conditions

Deverra tortuosa has 2 reported investigations on conditions identified across 3 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported conditions include Gastric ulcers, tumor.

Gastric ulcers

1. Tissue & cell

Tumor

1. Scientific reports

Preparations

Deverra tortuosa has 7 reported preparations identified across 3 scientific publications and several other databases. The most consistently reported preparations include Essential Oil, PTACN/W, essential oil, essential oils, ethanolic extract of D. tortuosa (DT-ETOH).

Essential oil

1. Journal of cellular biochemistry

Ptacn/w

1. Biomedical and environmental sciences : BES

Essential oil

1. Gels (Basel, Switzerland)

Essential oils

1. Zeitschrift fur Naturforschung. C, Journal of biosciences

Ethanolic extract of d. tortuosa (dt-etoh)

1. Tissue & cell

Methanol extract

1. Scientific reports

Nanoemulsion (ne)-based gel

1. Gels (Basel, Switzerland)