Examination of native and exotic plant taxons used in traditional and new period home gardens: The case of Rize

The association of humans and plants, with which an inseparable bond has been established, has played a major role in shaping the culture by influencing the way of life. However, in today's world where technological and economic developments are increasing rapidly, cultures are visibly different and most of them are on the verge of being forgotten. In this study, it was aimed to examine the level of use and recognition of natural plant taxa, to associate the bond between people and their gardens with plant and demographic data, and to examine the cultural bond of house owners with plants. The province of Rize, which has a rich plant diversity, was determined as the study area, and studies were carried out in 150 different residential gardens located in a total of 53 different sample areas, in 29 villages and 24 neighborhoods of 12 districts within the provincial borders. Fieldwork continued between June and October, and semi-structured interviews were held with the homeowners. As a result of the field studies carried out on site, 603 plant taxa belonging to 120 families and 401 genera were identified. It has been determined that 45% of them are natural and 55% are exotic plant taxa. While the most encountered family is Asteraceae belonging to 58 different taxa, the most common natural plant taxon is Commelina communis L., the exotic plant taxon Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze and the planted natural plant taxon Brassica oleracea L. var. viridis L.. According to their intended use, it was determined that 511 of 603 plants were used for at least one purpose, and 408 different plants were mostly used because of their visuality. It was observed that there was a significant relationship between the demographic characteristics of the participants and their answers to the interview questions. As a result of the interviews with the homeowners; The most beautiful plant taxon was Zea mays L., while the ugliest taxon was Tradescantia fluminensis Vell. has been stated. According to the beta diversity values examined in the criteria of modern and traditional residential gardens, it was observed that the diversity was higher in modern house types. The results of this study, in which the majority of the homeowners said that they pay attention to planting natural plant species in their gardens, showed the opposite of what was stated. With this study, it has been foreseen that the interest in natural plant taxa will increase and contribute to the protection of biodiversity.