Did you know that the city of Antalya has more endemic plants than the country of Spain? Turkey makes up only 0.6% of the world’s land area but is home to 2.6% of its flora? With over 10,000 species and a 35% endemism rate, Turkey stands out as the richest country in the temperate zone.

LETTER FROM BOB & RANNVEIG WALLIS

We are organising a trip with Alper Ertubey of Hike’n Sail to see the bulbs of south west Turkey.  The tour will be in a minibus and will be for 14 nights starting in Antalya on March 26^th 2026 and finishing in Izmir on April 8^th.

This is a very species rich area taking in both the Mediterranean flora and that of the mountains on the SW edge of the Anatolian Plateau.  It has spectacular scenery and a plethora of endemic taxa.  The timing is set so that we can see about 15 different Fritillaria, 3 Cyclamen, 2 Galanthus, several Crocus and a lot of other genera like Anemone, Orchidaceae, Scilla, and Sternbergia.

Specifically we will visit:

• Üçoluk Yaylası see photo album link below
• The Sinekçibeli Pass to see Fritillaria kittaniae – is it a hybrid swarm or a species in its own right?
• Baba Dağ, the home of the white Sternbergia
• The narrow yet mountainous Datça Peninsular
• The wonderful Umbrella Pine Forest on the edge of the Merenderes Valley.
• Boz Dağ – the type locality of Scilla (Chionodoxa) luciliae

Rannveig and I am looking forward to a spring in Turkey.

Bob & Rannveig