An ethnobotanical survey in selected districts of the Black Sea region (Turkey)

The current study was carried out in selected districts of the Black Sea region of Turkey, in Trabzon (center), Corum (Iskilip town), Karabuk (Yenice town), Amasya (Kapikaya village), and Amasya (Belmebuk villa) in order to document the wild plants used by the local inhabitants, i.e. as a remedy or foodstuff or for other purposes. The data were collected from 352 individuals residing in these districts and volunteering to participate in the research through face-to-face interviewing. Depending on the data collected, the parts of the plants used, the purpose in using them, and the ways of preparation (simply cooking or decoction, infusion, poultice, ointment, etc.) were documented. Wild plants that are said to be used were collected with guidance from the informant and herbarium materials were prepared. All plant specimens collected were identified botanically and deposited at the Herbarium of the Faculty of Education of Hacettepe University (HEF). In the survey, the use of 72 plant taxa from 35 families was documented. Most of them belonged to the families Rosaceae (14 taxa), Lamiaceae (5 taxa), and Asteraceae (5 taxa). Among the 150 wild plant used in total, 106 were documented to be used in the treatment of several health problems. In descending order, these health problems were respiratory system disorders (25 remedies; 23.6%), dermatological disorders (21 remedies; 19.8%), gastro-intestinal disorders (20 remedies; 18.9%), endocrine and metabolic diseases (11 remedies; 10.4%), and urinary disorders (11 remedies; 10.4%), respectively.