Endemism in Istanbul plants

Objective: Istanbul has exceptional plant diversity with 2500 species, (many of) which are under threat due to rapid urbanization. The aim of this study is to update the endemic plants lists of Istanbul to show how many of these endemic plants are only found in Istanbul, which might be helpful in preparing development plans. Materials and Methods: A list of Istanbul’s endemic plants is created according to “Flora of Turkey and East Aegean Islands” and related articles, books, herbarium records. Results: Ten of the 60 endemic plant species of Turkey’s flora are endemic only to Istanbul. Half of the remaining species are endemic to Istanbul and its surrounding areas (neighboring cities) and the other half have other distribution areas throughout Anatolia. Conclusion: Not only the ten species endemic only to Istanbul, but also the other 50 species found in the area, should be conserved because of their high biological value stemming from their limited distributions.