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Village Healer Husniye Turan, from Akdam Village, Kagizman
RECORDING ETHNOBOTANICAL DATA
Many different ethnic groups, each with different plant usage traditions, weave the landscape of Eastern Anatolia, but the gathering of wild plants for food and medicine, once a rich tradition, has fallen out of vogue. One main reason for this decline is the loss of traditional knowledge due to heavy migration from rural communities to the big cities. The specialized knowledge is disappearing with the elders as those remaining behind lack traditional knowledge of how to use the plant kingdom with reverence, and to the benefit the community.
Anatolia Foundation team noticed that the project communities are surrounded by an abundant flora, which remains mostly unused and unidentified. We invited a team of international experts, including an Ayurvedic doctor from India and a foremost Turkish botanist, to direct field studies and compile information on traditional plant usages from elders and healers. They took botanical students on field trips to environmentally sensitive areas to identify and catalog this precious resource. Students visited and interviewed elders and compiled disappearing information on traditional plant usage in the region. Plants used for food and folk medicine were identified and the information recorded.
Golnaz Karakurt washing Caksir (Ferula orentalis)
 
Esmecayir Village, eating Mircalik (Trogopon aureus) Akyoz Plateau, Sarikamis, Wild Onion (Allium spp)
The project educated local villagers about the importance of recognizing and protecting local flora. In this remote region where livestock grazing is the basis of the local economy, emphasis was placed on raising awareness about the detrimental effects of over-grazing and measures to avoid it. During the project, over 500 plant taxons were scientifically identified and an extensive ethno-medicinal database recorded, while simultaneously protecting the intellectual rights of the villagers. Villagers visited during the data collection process were informed about the importance of the plants surrounding them. Most plants mentioned by healers were collected on the spot, pressed and identified by our botanical team. This project aims to contribute to safeguard what remians of the once rich but now disappearing Anatolian ethnobotanical heritage.
 
Kafkas University, Botanical Department Students getting instruction from Prof. Dr. Neriman Ozhatay (Istanbul University)
During the two years of our projects, student teams from Kafkas University Botanical Department interviewed many village healers on plant usage as food and medicine in the region. Despite the fact that major knowledge has been lost, an extensive recording of ethno-medicinal data has been initiated in this project. Most plants mentioned by healers were collected on the spot, pressed and identified by our botanical team.
ETHNOBOTANY STUDY
Student Report Summary
Kars is located in North East Anatolia. The city is surrounded by high plateaus and plains formed of volcano lava and ash; mountains and rocky areas and some forested land around Sarikamis. Kars is the coldest region of Eastern Anatolia. According to Flora of Turkey there are about 1200 taxons in the Kars region. Local names are given to some of the endemic plants, such as: Lathyrus karsianus, Seneceio integrifolius subsp.karsianus, Chaerophyllum karsianum, Festuca karsianum , Allium karsianum , Nonea karsensis .
This study was conducted in 8 villages and includes some of the wild plants that are used medicinally, or eaten as food in the region. The information comes from interviews conducted with locals. The plants in question have been collected, dried and scientifically identified, then preserved at the Biology Department’s Herbarium which was inaugurated in 2007 with Anatolia Foundation support. At the end of the study, 45 taxons, used in the region medicinally or as food, were recorded with their latin and local names and their usage information, as in Tables 1-2 below:
Table 1: Inventory of Wild Plants used as Folk Remedy in Kars Province
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Latin name
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Vernacular Name
|
Family
|
Part used
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Technique
|
Uses
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Ajuga reptans
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Mayasıl otu
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Labiatae
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Flowers
stems
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Decoction with Mentha longifolium ssp longifolium
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Hemorrhoids, pains, eczema
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Anemone ablana subsp. armena
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Sinüzit otu
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Ranunculaceae
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Base leaves
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Leaves grounds and extracts
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Headache & sinusitis
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Anethum graveolens
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Dere otu
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Umbelliferae
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All parts, seeds
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Decoction
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Gastritis, hemorrhoids & stomach disease
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Artemisia absinthium
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Yavşan otu
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Compositae
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Leaves, stems
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Decoction
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Diabetes
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Anthemis cotula
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Papatya
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Compositae
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Stems leaves flowers
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Decoction
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Cold & cough
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Astragalus
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Geven
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Leguminosea
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Leaves roots
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Decoction with honey
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Stomach inflammation, tension, pain
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Caltha polypetala
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Lilipar
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Ranunculaceae
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Flowers
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make soup
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Internal organs haemorrhoids
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Centaurea depressa
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Oğul otu
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Compositae
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Leaves
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Decoction
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Expectorant, good for heart and asthma
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Cephalaria gigontea
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Kanteper
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Dipsacaceae
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Flowers
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Decoction
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Treats common cold, diuretic, menstruation regulator, relieves rheumatism, lung diseases and heart conditions
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Filipendula vulgaris
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Emen kömenci
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Rosaceae
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Leaves
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Decoction, extacts make dough for lessions
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Lesions, carbuncle, discharge
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Hecisum palasi
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Altın otu
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Compositae
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Flowers
Leaves Stems
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Decoction
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Diuretic
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Heracleum trachyloma
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Keküre
|
umbell
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Stems
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eat fresh, make pickle
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Stomach disease
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Juniperus oxycedrus
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Ardıç
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Cupressaceae
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Fruits
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Decoction with Urtica sp. & Petroselinum crispum
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Rheumatism, constipation
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Malva neglecta
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Emen kömenci
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Malvaceae
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Stems Leaves
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Decoction with Plantago major leaves
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Gastritis & stomach disease
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Mentha longifolium ssp longifolium
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Yarpuz
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Labiatae
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Leaves Stems
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Infusion with Camelia sinensis
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Asthma, stomach disease
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Pinus sylvestrls
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Çam
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Pinaceae
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Coat Leaves
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Decoction, make cream
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Toothache, lesions, gastritis, expectorant
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Plantago major
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Bağa Leaves
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Plantaginaceae
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Leaves
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Decoction with sugar
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Stomachache, inflammation
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Poligonum bistorta
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Çayır eveleği
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Polygonaceae
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Flowers Stems
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Dried and make soap, decoction
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Stomachache, discharge
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Sinapis sp.
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Hardal
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Cruciferae
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Flowers
Stems
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Decoction, dried and make flour for lessions
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Headache, tootache, rheumatism
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Ranunculus caucacicus
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Sarı çiçek
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Ranunculaceae
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Air parts
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Make soap, use the leave to heal wounds
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Rheumatism, burns.
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Rheum ribes
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ışgın
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polgonacea
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Stems Roots
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Eat fresh, root boiling
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Diabetics
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Rosa canina
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Kuş burnu
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Rosaceae
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Leaves Stems Fruits
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Infusion
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Cold
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Rosa pinpinellifolia
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Siyah kuş burnu
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Rosaceae
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Fruits
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Jam and decoction
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Bellyache,
cold.
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Rumex patientia
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Evelik
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Polygonaceae
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Leaves
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Decoction
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Cold, tonsillitis, cough
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Tanecetum chiliophyllum
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Bronşit otu
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Compositae
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All parts
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Decoction with Camelia sinensis & Tymus transcaucasica drink one glass of it every morning and evening
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Lung disease, discharge, cold
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Tanecetum balsamia
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Kılıç otu
Bozboz
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Compositae
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Leaves Stems
Fresh
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Leaves
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Made into a healing salve to treat wounds and arthritis. Menstruation regulator
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Taraxacum sp.
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Karahindiba
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Compositae
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Roots Leaves
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Decoction
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Diabetes, kidney stones, hepatitis
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Thalictrum minus
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Astım otu
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Ranunculaceae
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Leaves Stems
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Boiling and vapour inhalation
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Asthma
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Thymus transcaucasica
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Kek otu
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Labiatae
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All parts
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Infusion
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Hypertension, cold
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Tragopogon aureus
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Yemlik
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Compositae
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All parts
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Fresh
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Intestinal worms
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Trifolium ochroleucum
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At elması
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Leguminosae
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Flowers Leaves Stems
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Decoction
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Constipation
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Urtica dioica
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Isırgan
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Urticaceae
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Leaves Stems
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Decoction
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Preventative for cancer Expectorant. Heals bronchitis and stomach ulcers.
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Verbascum sp.
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Sığır kuyruğu
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Scrophulariceae
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Flowers Leaves
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Decoction with sugar
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Expectorant. Heals hemorrhoids
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Zea mays
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Mısır
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Graminea
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Pistils
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Decoction
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Diuretic. Helps with rheumatism, prostate, coughs, stomach ache and headaches
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Table 2: Inventory of Wild Plants used for Food in Kars Province
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Latin name
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Local name
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Family
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Part used
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Technique
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Uses
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Amaranthus retrosa
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Unluca Pancar
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Amarantaceae
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Leaves
Stems
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Cooked or eaten fresh in salad
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Food
|
|
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Autheriscus cerefolium
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Kımı
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Umbelliferae
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All Plant Parts
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Eaten in soup
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Food
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Caltha polypetala
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Lilipar
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Ranunculaceae
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All Plant Parts
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Fried or added soup
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Food
|
|
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Ferula orientalis
|
Çakşır (çaşır)
|
Umbelliferae
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Leaves
Stems
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Eaten pickeled or fresh
|
Food
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|
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Heracleum antiasiaticum
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Kangal
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Umbelliferae
|
Stems
|
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Food
|
|
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Heracleum trachyloma
|
Keküre
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Umbelliferae
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Stems
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Eaten pickled or fresh.
|
Food
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Lathyrus tuberosus
|
Koş koz
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Leguminosae
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Fruits
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Food
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Lepidium vesicarium
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Patpatık
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Cruciferae
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Seeds
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Infusion
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Food
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Malabailadasyantha
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Kelemen keçir
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Apiaceae
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Leaves
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Fried or eaten in soup
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Food
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Mentha longifolia ssp longifolia
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Yarpuz
|
Labiatae
|
Leaves Stems
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Dried and ground into powder, used as condiment.
|
Food
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Papaver orientale
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Haşhaş
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Papaveraceae
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Seeds
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Eaten as seeds, or ground into paste.
|
Food
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Plantago major
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Bağa Leaves
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Plantaginaceae
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Leaves
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Cooked
|
Food
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|
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Poligonum bistorta
|
Çayır eveleği
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Polygonaceae
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Flowers Stems
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Dried and added to soup.
|
Food
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|
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Polygonum cognutum
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Madımak, Kuş ekmeği
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Polygonaceae
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All Plant Parts
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Cooked or added to soup. Eaten fresh in salads.
|
Food
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Ranunculus caucasicus
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Mayıs flowers
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Ranunculaceae
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Flowers
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Added to soup. Made into jam. Dried and powdered as condent.
|
Food
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Rheum ribes
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Işgın
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Polgonacea
|
Stems Roots
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Eaten fresh. Roots are cooked.
|
Food
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Rosa pinpinellifolia
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Siyah kuş burnu
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Rosaceae
|
Fruits
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Made into jam or tea.
|
Food
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Rumex crispus
|
Kuzu kulağı
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Polygonaceae
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Leaves
Stems
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Cooked or eaten fresh in salads.
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Food
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Rumex patientia
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Evelik
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Polygonaceae
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Leaves
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Cooked or added to soup.
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Food
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Sedum telephium
|
Çamış kulağı
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Crassulaceae
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Leaves
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Eaten fresh
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Food
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Solanum nigrum
|
İt üzümü
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Solanaceae
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Fruits
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Eaten fresh.
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Food
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Trifolium ocreleucum
|
Tut
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Leguminosae
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Flowers
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Eaten fresh.
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Food
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Trogapogon paratenis
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Yemlik
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Compositae
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All Plant Parts
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Eaten fresh.
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Food
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