Diversity of bulbous monocots in Turkey with special reference. Chromosome numbers

Abstract

Turkey is among the richest countries in the world in terms of plant diversity. The aim of this paper is to show diversity of the petaloid and bulbous plants, which belong to monocotyledones. According to Flora of Turkey and its supplements, the number of species of bulbous monocotyledones is around 688, of which 244 are endemic (endemism 35.4 %). According to the statistical data of Turkish flowering plants based on the published records, only 15 % of the flora have information about chromosome counts, although bulbous monocots percentage is higher at 58 %. Fritillaria and Tulipa are stable genera as regards chromosome numbers with 2n = 24 and karyotype; on the other hand, the most variable genera are Crocus (2n = 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 26, 28, 30, 70) and Ornithogalum (2n = 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 24, 27, 28, 32, 40, 45, 54, 60, 80).