Evaluation of Local Wild Plants, Including Recently Discovered Endemics, as Ornamentals: the EXPO-2021 Hatay, Türkiye Example

Abstract

This study was carried out in order to determine the potential of wild plants in an Eastern Mediterranean province, Hatay (Türkiye), as ornamentals. In the light of floristic field studies that the authors have been carrying out in the region for more than ten years, plants that may have ornamental features were identified. Most of these plants were evaluated as ornamental plants within the scope of horticulture EXPO-2021 Hatay. Local endemic plants discovered by the authors in recent years have also been successfully cultivated as ornamental plants and one of them, Scorzonera pacis, was even chosen as the emblem of the event. The preference for exotic, showy species in landscape design is a common trend that is still prevalent around the world and that we witness both in Hatay and throughout Türkiye. However, due to global climate changes and the freshwater crisis, it is now necessary to use local species that are compatible with the existing habitat so they can be cultivated more easily. In addition to the advantage of easy cultivation, choosing local wild plant species for landscape design will contribute to the diversification of agricultural products and to the local economy, as well as to the conservation of endangered species and the local ecological balance. Even very rare local endemic plants can be cultivated and successfully used as ornamentals in foreign habitats, as in the examples of the Turkish endemics Origanum amanum and Tulipa sprengeri. Both species are extremely rare in nature. The former is currently almost only available in European botanical gardens ex situ. The second is a very popular and widespread ornamental plant and, after years of extinction in nature, it was replanted in its natural habitat in Türkiye where it was discovered. Moreover, the economic and ecological advantages of using native flora species instead of foreign ones will give parks and gardens unique identities. Hatay was the province that suffered the greatest destruction in the February 23, 2023 earthquake. We hope that this article, prepared before the earthquake, will guide the reconstruction of the city by suggesting alternative agricultural and economic products.