Potential herbaceous ornamental plants of Upper Mesopotamia: Genetic resources, distribution and field surveys

Turkey is home to many species of Campanula, Dianthus, Geranium, Iris, Narcissus, Salvia, Tulipa, Verbena, Veronica and Viola. The area in the Southeast region of Turkey, known as Upper Mesopotamia province, holds the greatest diversity of these taxa in Turkey. This study is focusing on the above herbaceous ornamental genera of the Upper Mesopotamia region. The objective is the collection, conservation and evaluation of these ornamental plants. Many of the targeted species are endemic to this region, and most of them have never been collected for ex situ conservation. The study was started in 2003. Preliminary studies narrowed the scope to 24 species of Veronica, 18 species of Salvia, 12 species of Iris, 10 species of Campanula, 7 species of Geranium, 6 species of Dianthus, 4 species of Viola, 2 species of Verbena, and 1 species of Narcissus. In addition the potential of some bulbous species as ornamental plants, their distribution and observations on their populations was also studied.