page_title: Flora of Turkey
section_title: Main components of the Turkish flora
hierarchical_section_title: Flora of Turkey / Main components of the Turkish flora
caption_attribution_description: English: Thorn cushion heath with dominant Astragalus angustifolius on Melendiz Dag (Nigde), c. 2000 m s.l. . From: G. Pils: Flowers of Turkey - a photo guide.- 448 pp.– Eigenverlag Gerhard Pils (2006). Deutsch: Dornpolsterheide mit dominierendem Astragalus angustifolius am Melendiz Dag (Nigde), ca. 2000 m s.m.
context_page_description: As of 2000 about 9300 species of vascular plant were known to grow in Turkey. By comparison, Europe as a whole contains only about 24% more species, despite having thirteen times the area.
  The most important reasons for the high plant biodiversity are believed to be the relatively high proportion of endemics, together with the high variety of soils and climate of Turkey.
context_section_description: With almost 400 species the genus Astragalus (milk-vetch, goat's-thorn; Fabaceae) has by far the most species of the Turkish flora; as historically humans have dramatically expanded its favored treeless, dry and heavily grazed habitats. But not as many as Central Asia: the former USSR has twice as many. The plasticity of this genus is astonishingly high. Depending on environmental conditions a big variety of life-forms evolved, ranging from tiny annuals to small woody and thorny bushes. Speciation seems to be in plain progress in Astragalus. Nearly all of its different sections consists of clusters of closely related species whose determination is one of the hardest tasks in a closer study of the Anatolian flora. One of the most successful growth forms of Turkish Astragali is the thorn cushion, which is very characteristic of the dry mountains of inner Anatolia. Such thorn cushions were not exclusively invented by many Astragali. Really striking examples of convergent evolution are the impressive thorn cushions of Onobrychis cornuta, also belonging to the Fabaceae. But there are a lot of thorn cushions also in Acantholimon (Plumbaginaceae). Even some Asteraceae (in Turkey e.g. Centaurea urvillei, C. iberica) and  Caryophyllaceae (e.g. Minuartia juniperina) evolved in that direction. 
  Second in importance comes Verbascum (Scrophulariaceae) and third is Centaurea (Asteraceae). For Verbascum Turkey evidently is the centre of distribution. Of approximately 360 species worldwide no less than 232 are to be found in Turkey, almost 80% of them being Anatolian endemics! Most Verbascum species are protected against water loss and hungry cattle by a dense cover of tree-shaped micro hairs. Centaurea species rarely have woolly hairs, but in defence against heavy grazing developed thorny phyllaries, or evolved to have no visible stem or a very short one.
caption: Heavily pastured thorn-cushion vegetation, consisting mainly of Astragalus angustifolius.— Melendiz Daği (Niğde), c. 2000 m s.l.
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