Salep Orchids and Salep in Kahramanmaraş Region

Abstract

Orchids are perennial, wire rooted, with some varieties having (e.g. Orchis, Ophrys, Dactylorhiza, Serapias, Platanthera) two tuberous roots,
herbaceous plants; In Europe and the Middle East, the most orchid variety is found in Turkey. Also known in native language as dilçıkık,
dildamak, çam çiçeği, çayır or salep otu, it is known that there are about 154 orchid species in 24 genera in Turkey. 13% of them (20 species
and 1 subspecies) are unique to Turkey. Ovoid- root tuberous species which are common in Turkey, used for obtaining salep, belong to
Orchis, Ophrys, Anacamptis, Serapias, Himantoglossum, Barlia, Aceras genus, and species with tubercules belong to genus Dactylorhiza and
Platanthera. Turkey’s North, South, Southeast and Eastern Anatolia regions especially are richer in terms of wild orchids. There are 25 species
belonging to 9 genera in Kahramanmaraş region, with 2 species (Orchis palustris and Dactylorhiza osmanica) being common and other species
rare and rarely grown.