Survival in different habitats: Extreme ultramafic and calcareous soils affect Stachys recta essential oils composition

Abstract

Two populations of Stachys recta growing in Italy on ultramafic and calcareous soils have been studied for their essential oils. Although the yields were comparable, the composition of the essential oils differed significantly. Plants growing on ultramafic soil produced mainly non-terpene derivatives (55.7%), of which the most abundant ones were 1-octen-3-ol (38.2%) and (E)-3-hexen-1-ol (5.9%); the terpenes α-cadinol (6.1%) and δ-cadinene (5.6%) were also significantly represented. In contrast, the populations living on calcareous soil produced an essential oil dominated by terpenes (93.8%), with germacrene D (18.8%), β-caryophyllene (17.7%), 1,8-cineole (15.9%) and α-pinene (14.2%) among the main components.

Keywords:

• Stachys recta
• ultramafic soil
• calcareous soil
• essential oils
• secondary metabolism

Acknowledgments

The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This research project was supported by the Italian Ministero Italiano dell'Università e della Ricerca (MIUR).