Rhaponticoides Conservation Project

The natural habitat of the Rhaponticoides (Rhaponticoides iconiensis) is in the Akkise and Orta Karaören region of the Seydişehir and Bozkır districts of Konya, is struggling to survive in a very limited area. The plant has been diagnosed as the CR status according to the IUCN criteria, the endemic species to be protected first.

In the vicinity of the village of Orta Karaören, 18 km from Seydisehir, a very small population of Rhaponticoides was detected between the DSI canal and the highway. A small number of these endemic plants have been exposed to the risk of extinction due to adverse effects such as road expansion. The expert of the subject Prof. Dr. Mecit Vural, was decided to protect the plant.

With this project, which was started in 2005 by NGBB, it was aimed to keep the species alive and well in the garden. Within the scope of the project, some of the seeds collected from the natural area were planted in five different spots, which were still more protected in the same area; some of them were moved to our garden and production activities were started.