2018, Vol. 6, Issue 6, Part C

author(s)
Omer Caliskan, Dursun Kurt and Hasan Korkmaz

abstract
With the different climates and geography, Turkey had a quite rich in flora in different regions. Samsun province with different climate patterns has also very rich flora. Within this great diversity, the Orchidaceae family has a distinct place. Orchidaceae family has the richest diversity among medicinal and aromatic plant species. Previous studies revealed the existence of 44 orchid taxa in the province. It was observed that about 1/3 of orchids were able to produce salep. Depending on species, it was estimated that annually 25-30 tons salep tubers were collected illegally in Samsun. Such illicit collections result in serious destruction of natural flora. The species that produce tubers and used to obtain salep have not been studied in Samsun. In this study, site visits were made in Samsun province with salep collectors and purchasers and the types of salep collected for tuber were determined. Various measures to be taken in order to reduce the collection pressure have been emphasized.