The orchid flora of Turkish graveyards: a comprehensive field survey

Abstract

Graveyards in Turkey are widely known among orchidologists as places where several orchid (Orchidaceae) taxa can be found, including some very rare and localized ones. Graveyards are less strongly affected by landscape-altering human activities than other habitats because of their special cultural roles and religious privileges. In this study we performed a comprehensive survey of Turkish graveyards as orchid habitats. In total, 300 graveyards were studied in 30 provinces of Turkey in 2014. Altogether, we found 86 orchid taxa (almost half of the known Turkish orchid flora) in 208 graveyards. Among the studied provinces, Muğla and Antalya, in the southwest, emerged as peaks of taxon richness. This finding is in accordance with the overall biogeographic pattern of orchid diversity in Turkey. Our survey also contributes new floristic data to the orchid flora of Turkey. Additionally we documented salep collection in ten graveyards from six provinces involving nine taxa. We conclude that the occurrence of orchids in Turkish graveyards is not a rare phenomenon, and thus graveyards can be important refuges for orchids in the changing economic and agricultural circumstances of Turkey.

Turkish graveyards as refuges for orchids against tuber harvest

“…Botanist and amateur orchid enthusiasts recognized decades ago that orchids regularly occur in Turkish graveyards (Kaya, Varol, & Aytepe, 2008;Kreutz, 1998;Kreutz & Çolak, 2009;Sundermann & Taubenheim, 1978). A comprehensive field survey of orchids in Turkish graveyards was carried out recently; this study also demonstrated that salep harvesting does occur in Turkish graveyards (Löki et al, 2015). However, the actual amount of the collected species, the number of collected individuals, and generally the collecting preferences of local people are unknown.…”

Using traditional ecological knowledge in discovery of rare plants: a case study from Turkey

“…[24]). During our work, we met local residents who revealed that they have significant knowledge related to orchids (three study locations are shown in Fig.…”

“…In Turkey, tubers of the terrestrial orchids have been collected for centuries, and used for making a hot winter beverage (salep) and ice-cream (salepi dondurma), and are still used for those purposes [13,14]. Salep collection is considered one of the most important threats to orchids in the Balkans [15], in the Southwestern Asia [16,17], and especially in Turkey [13,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. Germany is one of the major importers of salep in Europe: the number of excavated, exported orchid individuals just for salep in Germany is approximately 3 or 4 million individuals per year [19].…”

Two New Records of Orchid Species for the Flora of Iraq: Anacamptis papilionacea (L.) R.M. Bateman, Pridgeon & M.W. Chase and Dactylorhiza romana (Sebast.) Soó

“…These specific flowers play an important role in pollination by developing a particular life history strategy in response to evolutionary selective pollinator pressure (Adams and Lawson, 1993;Weston, et al, 2005). In terms of ethnobotany, in Eastern Mediterranean countries called "Levant," the dried underground tubercles of some Orchis species often used as a cooking powder by the local people in a hot beverage named "Saleb" or refreshment ice cream named "dondurma" (Kasparek and Grimm, 1999;Kreutz and Çolak, 2009;Löki, et al, 2015). However, it has been reported (Sezik, 2002;Kreutz, 2004;Löki, et al, 2015) that these tubercles collecting activity became threats to Orchidaceae family, especially subtribe Orchidinae (Ophrys, Orchis, Himantoglossum, and Anacamptis) in the Levant.…”

“…In terms of ethnobotany, in Eastern Mediterranean countries called "Levant," the dried underground tubercles of some Orchis species often used as a cooking powder by the local people in a hot beverage named "Saleb" or refreshment ice cream named "dondurma" (Kasparek and Grimm, 1999;Kreutz and Çolak, 2009;Löki, et al, 2015). However, it has been reported (Sezik, 2002;Kreutz, 2004;Löki, et al, 2015) that these tubercles collecting activity became threats to Orchidaceae family, especially subtribe Orchidinae (Ophrys, Orchis, Himantoglossum, and Anacamptis) in the Levant. In Kurdistan Region, the local people (such as in Amadyia and Barwarya Bala) collect Orchids' tubercles and then sell the powder to Turkish traders which they in turn sell it in traditional Turkish markets (Véla, et al, 2013;Youssef, et al, 2015).…”