Suleyman Baslar

The Use of Wild Edible Plants in Western and Central Anatolia (Turkey)

In this study, 121 wild edible plants used as food in Anatolia were surveyed to determine the plant parts used and their detailed preparation methods. The results of this study show that the plants may be boiled, fried in fat, and eaten raw or as rolled vegetables. They may also be consumed as pickles, fruits, sweets and spices, and drunk as cold and hot drinks. Thirty species (8 genera) were identified as belonging to the Lamiaceae family, 15 species (15 genera) belong to the Asteraceae family, 13 species (5 genera) belong to the Rosaceae family, 8 species (7 genera) belong to the Brassicaceae family, 6 species (3 genera) belong to the Orchidaceae family and 5 species (5 genera) belong to the Apiaceae family. The genera represented by the highest number of species in the study are as follows:Sideritis L. is represented by 13 species, Origanum L. by 7 species,Rubus L. by 5 species,Thymus L. by 4 species andRumex L. by 4 species.

Plants used as natural dye sources in Turkey

This study was carried out in the regions where handcrafts such as carpet and rug weaving are common in Turkey. In the regions where natural dyes are used, 123 plant species belonging to 50 families were identified as sources of natural dyes. In natural dye production, different parts of the plant or the whole aboveground plant is used. Ten different colors are gained from the plants. Sometimes the same color can be obtained from different plants. By mixing different plants, it is possible to produce various colors. We also identified more than 12 natural and more than eight chemical assistant substances (mordant) that are used in the regions to bind dye to fibers, to maintain the strongness and brightness of the colors, and to obtain various colors

The determination and fidelity level of medicinal plants used to make traditional Turkish salves.

OBJECTIVE This study has been done in order to identify plants that were used to make traditional Turkish salves between 2007 and 2008. MATERIALS AND METHODS During the step of identification of plants, the informants from different cities of Turkey were asked questions about the salves they have made and which plants and materials they have used. In this study, a total of 105 people from 21 provinces (N = 5 each province) were interviewed. Information was gathered through scientifically guided questionnaires, interviews, and general conversations, and fidelity level (FL) of species was determined. RESULTS According to the results of the identification, 68 plants are being used to make Traditional Turkish Salves for medicinal purposes in Turkey. Among them, 61 plants are wild and 7 plants are cultivated plants. Most used families were Asteraceae, Apiaceae, Lamiaceae, Liliaceae, and Rosaceae. Urtica dioica (100%) has the highest FL and Lawsonia inermis (33%) has the lowest. CONCLUSIONS The data provided from our informants and analyzed in the present article clearly show that folk knowledge on medicinal plants and plant uses is still alive in the studied region.

High School S tudents' Environmental Attitude: Scale Development and Validation

Abstract This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable instrument to be used for measuring high school students’ attitudes toward environment and its applications. Data gathered from 350 high school students provided evidence for the validity and reliability of the new instrument which consists of 35 attitude items on a four point Likert type scale. Results of the factor analysis with varimax rotation showed that, items constituting Environmental Attitude Scale (EAS) grouped under four subscales: (1) Environmental awareness; (2) Attitudes towards recovery; (3) Attitudes towards recycling; (4) Environmental consciousness and behavior. Each environmental attitude item had a factor loading of at least 0.40 with its own scale. The alpha reliability coefficient for the subscales ranged from 0.70 to 0.84. According to these findings, the EAS is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used in the field of environmental and science education.

Medicinal Uses of Natural Dye-Yielding Plants in Turkey

PPlants have been grown for natural dyes to produce a wide range of colors.. N Natural dyes become increasingly important these days as synthetic dyes cause serious damage to the environment and have to be replaced. The published records show that Turkey has about 10,000 taxa of higher plants, 145 of which come from 92 genera and 51 families and can be used as dyeing sources of 17 colors. The most common families used for dyeing are Asteraceae, Rosaceae, Lamiaceae, Polygonaceae and Euphorbiaceae, and the dominating genera are Rumex, Anthemis, Euphorbia, and Salvia. Dye plants are of great medicinal value as well and can be used for producing antihelmintic, antiseptic, appetizer, carminative, diuretic, exudative, laxative, sedative and stomachic preparations.

Trace Element Contents in Plants Growing at Mt. Akdag, Denizli

ABSTRACT The present study was conducted to determine the current level of atmospheric heavy metal pollution in the Akdag Mountain of Denizli Province. The increase in industrial activities and human population and the high urbanization in Denizli and its environs have made it one of the rapid developing cities in the Western Anatolian part of Turkey. For this reason, Akdag Mountain of Denizli was chosen as the study area. Twenty nine different plants were selected to study their potential as biomonitors of trace elements such as Pb, Cd, Ni, Zn, Fe and Mn (μg g−1, dry weight). The samples were collected from two different altitudes of Akdag, a mountain overlooking at Denizli province. The concentrations of trace elements were determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. The mean concentrations determined at 1000 m altitude ranged from 0.329 to 0.487, 0.011 to 0.882, 0.241 to 0.714, 0.532 to 9.396, and 0.155 to 3.439 (μg g−1, dry weight), for Pb, Ni, Zn, Fe and Mn, respectively. At 1600 m altitude, the values ranged from 0.263 to 0.889, 0.092 to 0.600, 0.272 to 0.834, 1.130 to 8.021 and 0.076 to 0.508 (7mu;g g−1, dry weight) for Pb, Ni, Zn, Fe and Mn, respectively. No Cd was detected at both altitudes. Statistical significance was determined by the independent sample t—test. In the independent sample t—test, comparisons were made in order to determine whether there were any differences between the averages of the herbaceous plants and woody plants.

The Determination of Colour Intensity of Rubia Tinctorum and Chrozophora Tinctoria Distributed in Western Anatolia

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to determinate the colour intensity of Rubia tinctorum L., Rubiaceae (dyers madder) and Chrozophora tinctoria (L.) A. Juss., Euphorbiaceae (dyers croton). Rubia tinctorum and Chorozophora tinctoria distributed widely in our study area of West Anatolia were used as the research materials in our study because of their dye value. Aboveground parts of C. tinctoria and underground parts of R. tinctorum were collected from different localities in Western Anatolia for determining their colour intensity on wool. After a few procedures, the colour intensity of specimens was determined by DC 3881 Datacolor spectrophotometer and evaluation made by Kubelka-Munk equality. According to the results of the measurements; the highest and the lowest colour intensity of R. tinctorum were as 28.07 and 11.01, respectively, and the same values for C. tinctoria were 6.40 and 3.21, respectively.

The Effect of Recycling Education on High School Students' Conceptual Understanding about Ecology: A Study on Matter Cycle.

The objective of this study is to analyze and determine whether a developed recycling education program would lead to a positive change in the conceptual understanding of ecological concepts associated with matter cycles by high school students. The research was conducted on 68 high school 10th grade students (47 female and 21 male students). The research has been contextualized as a quasi-experimental design model with pretest-posttest control group and the EECUT Test was applied to the students in the research group prior to and after providing them with the respective courses with an aim to determine the effects of the Recycling Education Program (REP) on the conceptual understanding of ecological concepts by high school students. Based on the results a significant difference in the conceptual understanding of the students included in the respective experimental and control group was identified in the answers given to the EECUT WC and EECUT CC questions. Key words: Recycling, education, ecology, matter cycle.

Effects of Temperature and Salinity on Germination and Seedling Growth of Daucus carota cv. nantes and Capsicum annuum cv. sivri and Flooding on Capsicum annuum cv. sivri

The germination and seedling growth of Daucus carota cv. nantes and Capsicum annuum cv. sivri were investigated under stress conditions. D. carrota seeds germinated well in the dark at 20°C (92%) but in the light germination was only 54%. The germination in dark at 20%C was 92%, 84% and 80% at 0.1%, 0.5% and 1% salt (NaCl) solutions, as the concentration increased germination decreased and length of radicle and plumule also got reduced. Germination was 90% at 0.1% NaCl + 10 ppm GA3 and 43% at 2% NaCl +10 ppm GA3. The seeds of C. annuumcv. sivri germinated well at constant temperatures of 15°C (83%), 20°C (100%), and 30°C (88%). The germination was 100% in the seeds placed in distilled water and left at 20°C, but it was delayed or inhibited when salt solutions were applied to these seeds. An application of growth regulators showed that GA3 was stimulatory under saline conditions, However plant survival was low at 2% and 3% salt conditions as compared to 0.5% and 1% salt solutions. C. annuumcv. sivri did not show salt tolerance. When 4 weeks old seedlings of C. annuumwere subjected to fl ooding using tap water, the performance of seedlings was better on unfl ooded soils. The plants survived under short periods of fl ooding but growth was poor, however, under longer periods of fl ooding the mortality increased and plants became sensitive.