The Most Interesting Plants by Mesut Topal

The Most Interesting Plants Prepared by Erva SAYAR, Berke UÇAR, Berat GÜNDOĞDU Supervisor Fatma BARLAS

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s start with our endemic plants ! ! !

Endemic plants grow in a local area but donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t grow in other places of the world. Turkey has got a rich natural habitat. Turkey has got 10.000 different plant species and 3.000 endemic plants. There are about 350.000 plant species of the plants kingdom in the world. Our country is a very important treasure in terms of plants diversity. While all Europe has got 12.000 plant species, our country has got about 10.000 plant species. The reason of plants diversity in Turkey is that Turkey has different climate and soil features. (http://www.kazimcapaci.com/FR_endemikcicekler.htm) 2

Cirsium Steriolepis Petrak The family of Cirsium Steriolepis Petrak is Compositae. It grows about 1 metre tall. It flowers in July and August. It is endemic to Kazdağ. The risk and conservation status is critically endangered.

Tümen, G. , Dirmenci, T., Satıl, F. (2007). Kazdağı Milli Parkı Çiçekli Bitkileri (Wild Flowers of Kazdağ National Park), Zeytinli Belediyesi, Balıkesir. http://www.kazdaglari.com/bitkiler/kazdag/kazdag.html 3

Dracunculus Vulgaris The family of Dracunculus Vulgaris is Araceae. It grows up to 25-50 cm tall. It flowers in June and July. And it grows in open rocky places at 1500 meters height.

Asperula Sintenisii

The family of Asperula sintenisii is Rubiaceae. It grows up to 2 cm tall. It flowers in July and August.It lives in the forest rocky places at 1600-1750 meters height.

Matthiola trojana

The family of Matthiola trojana is Cruciferae. It grows at 1500-1600 meters height and on open rocky slop. It grows up to 5 cm.

Muscari bourgaei Baker The family of Muscari bourgaei Baker is Liliaceae. They can reach at 15 cm tall. They usually have got 15-40 flowers. They come into flowers between May and July. They take places in mountain stony slopes at between 1500 and 3000 meters height. The risk and conservation status of them is least concern.

Crocus Gargaricus Herbert The family of Crocus gargaricus is Iridaceae. They take place at 1300 meters high and in damp pastures and sparse pinewoods. They blossom orange and dark yellow in April and May. The risk and conservation status of them is near threatened.

Silene bolanthoides Quezel

The family of Silene bolanthoides is Caryophyllaceae. They take place at 1700 meters high. They flower in June and July.T hey grow up to 2-3cm. The risk and conservation status of them is critically endangered.

Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s go on the most interesting plants!!!!!

This part contains the most beautiful, poisonous, dangerous and the worst smelled plants in the world. So these plants are the most interesting plants for us. We explore and write about some of them here!

Amorphophallus Titanum This plant has the worst smell in the world and is the biggest flower. It was discovered by Oroardo Beccari in Sumatru Rainforest in Indonesia in 1878. It grows up to about 3 meters high. It flowers once in 4 years. It gives off the bad smell to hunt bees, flies and insects.

http://www.cicekansiklopedisi.com/ceset-cicegi-amorphophallus-titanum/ http://www.bitkitohum.com/2011/04/dunyann-en11

Rosary Pea The rosary pea may sound cute and sweet but it is one of the most dangerous plant on earth. The family of Rosary Pea is Fabaceae. The plant is native to Indonesia and grows in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Its seeds contain a particular lectin known as abrin; when it is chewed and swallowed, it kills in a short time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abrus_precatorius http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2008/09/16/ 16-most-unassuming-yet-lethal-killer-plants/ 12

Strychnine Tree The family of Strychnine Tree is Loganiaceae. They are native to Southeast Asia. They are always green and contain alkoloid as a toxic material. It is said that Queen Cleopatra used a strychnine treeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fruit seeds for her own suicide. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strychnos_nux-vomica http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2008/09/16/16-most-unassuming-yet -lethal-killer-plants/

Daphne The family of Daphne is Thymelaeaceae. They range in colour from greenish-yellow to white, bright pink and purple. Most of the ever green species have greenish flowers, while the deciduous species tend to have pink flowers. One species, Daphne papyracea, the Lokta plant, is sustainably harvested in Nepal for paper production. If you eat its leaves, you may vomit, bleed, coma and die. It is rich in the toxin mezerein. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daphne_(plant) http://webecoist.momtastic.com/2008/09/16/16-most-assumingyet-lethal-killer-plants/ 14

Monkshood The family of Monkshood is Ranunculaceae. This species is very poisonous. It grows up to 50-199 cm. The flowers of Monkshood can be yellow, purple and blue. Most are tall and long-lived plants. They are native to moist mountainous regions of the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 250 species, although only a handful are commonly grown as ornamentals. http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/805/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aconitum 15