Ege University Botanical Garden Herbarium Research and Application Center Director Prof. Dr. Hasan Yıldırım started a new study inspired by the plant photos shared on social media by a nature lover living in the Akyaka region of Muğla. Yıldırım discovered a plant species that has no record in the literature as a result of his research in the area near the Göcek Tunnel.
The discovered plant species was named “Muğla teat” and scientifically it was named “Onosma serpentinica”. With this discovery, the number of teat species in our country increased to 105 and 62 of them are endemic species specific to our country.
Prof. Dr. Yıldırım stated that the discovered species was confused with the rock sucker species and was actually a different species. He emphasized that the Muğla sucker is only found within the borders of Fethiye and is an endemic plant specific to our country.
The Onosma genus is generally distributed in northwest, southwest and east Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean Basin. While there are approximately 300 species worldwide, the rich plant diversity in our country is of great importance.
Discovered as a result of detailed studies by Yıldırım, the Muğla plant was recorded as an important plant species that was introduced to the scientific world and added to the literature.
