ISHS Acta Horticulturae 969: VI International Symposium on Edible Alliaceae
ALLIUMS, AN UNDERUTILIZED GENETIC RESOURCE IN THE EAST MEDITERRANEAN |
| Authors: | M. Ozturk, S. Gucel, V. Altay, E. Altundag |
| Keywords: | Alliums, east mediterranean, genetic diversity |
| DOI: | 10.17660/ActaHortic.2012.969.39 |
| Abstract:
The east mediterranean is the ecoregion overlapped by the fertile crescent, which is regarded as among one of the specific and vulnerable ecosystems. The region is also known as the cradle of civilizations and possesses a rich biodiversity. It has served as a land-bridge for the present day distribution of old world flora and fauna. One of the taxa represented widely in its flora is the genus Allium. The taxa distributed in the east mediterranean are; 27 in Syria; 32 in Lebanon; 8 in Jordan; 25 in Lebanon and Syria; 2 endemics from Lebanon and Palestine; one endemic from Syria, Lebanon and Turkey and 42 in Israil. There are two edible taxa in Cyprus namely Allium neopolitanum and A. Ampleoprasum both consumed in large quantities and evaluted as medicinal plants too. It is one of the largest genera of Turkey with 188 taxa, 3 being cultivated and 73 are endemic. Latter include Irano-Turanian (47), mediterranean (72-49 east mediterranean), Euro-Siberian (17) phytogeographical elements, with nearly 61 taxa in danger of extinction. In spite of this rich diversity the genus is an underutilized genetic resource in the region. An attempt will be made here to present some general features of the wild Alliums in the region in order to put forward stratagies for the development of a germplasm centre for Alliums, which can serve as a basis for more productive new introduction studies. | |
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