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Traditional Uses of Wild Plants in the Middle Aegean Region of Turkey

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Abstract

This study investigates ethnobotanical uses of wild plants found on Honaz Mountain and its vicinity in Denizli Province in the middle Aegean region of Turkey. Eighty-one persons from 13 villages and six townships were interviewed. Nine hundred and sixty-four species, belonging to 60 plant families, were identified for which 381 different uses were recorded. Informants reported ethnobotanical uses for 19% of the identified species (184 out of 964): food (65), fodder (111), medicinal (119), firewood (28), handicrafts (16) and various other purposes (26). Medicinal tar production was particularly noted.

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Fig. 1
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Notes

  1. Some of the vernacular names of the plants are associated with their morphologies, e.g.: Equisetum ramosissimum is “eklice ot,” “jointed herb,” because of its jointed stems; Cotinus coggyria is “sarıcayaylık,” “yellowish grazing,” because of its yellowish color and being grazed by animals; Urtica dioica is “dalağan,” “itchy plant” because it irritates human skin; Galium aparine is “yapışak ot,” “ sticking herb ” as the hairs on its leaves and stems stick to clothing. And some plant names are based on their use, for example, Convolvulus arvensis is “bağ urganı,” “field rope,” due to use of its stem as thread; Juniperus oxycedrus subsp. oxycedrus is “katran ardıcı,” “tar (producing) juniper,” since it is used for tar production; Daucus carota is “diş otu,” “tooth herb,” as its dry flower twigs are used as toothpicks; Paracaryum aucheri is “el köpürten,” “hand foaming,” because its crushed aerial parts are used to wash hands in place of soap; and Polygonum cognatum is “buzağılık,” “for calf,” since it is given to calves to habituate them to grass during weaning.

  2. Laxative effects of P. domestica are believed to be due to its sorbitol, neochlorogenic and chlorogenic acids (Stacewicz-Sapuntzakis et al. 2001; Minev and Balev 2002; Lombardi-Boccia et al. 2004).

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Acknowledgement

The authors wish to thank Dr H Shazly, Swansea, UK, for editing the paper’s English.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Science and Literatures, Biology Department, Afyon Kocatepe University, 03200, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey

    Mustafa Kargıoğlu, Süleyman Cenkci, Ahmet Serteser, Muhsin Konuk & Gürsel Vural

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  1. Mustafa Kargıoğlu
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  2. Süleyman Cenkci
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  3. Ahmet Serteser
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  4. Muhsin Konuk
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  5. Gürsel Vural
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Correspondence to Muhsin Konuk.

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Kargıoğlu, M., Cenkci, S., Serteser, A. et al. Traditional Uses of Wild Plants in the Middle Aegean Region of Turkey. Hum Ecol 38, 429–450 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-010-9318-2

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