Endemic lily attracts photographers attention in Turkey

By Hayati Akcay

ORDU, Turkey (AA) - Turkey's endemic type of lily "Akkus" attracts the attention of photographers in the country’s Black Sea province of Ordu.

Akkus lily is 1.5 meters long and lives up to only 20 days in the month of June in the Akkus district of Ordu province.

Akkus lily, which is also known as Lilium Akkusianum in Latin, first discovered in 1993 after five years of scientific works in Ordu.

The lily found place in literature in 1998 as a result of scientific works, Soner Yilmaz, forest operations manager told Anadolu Agency.

He said that the lily which grows only in the Akkus district, was first photographed by two scientists in 1993 in the province.

"The lily is under the protection due to the endemic feature of it. The fine for removing or relocating one lily is 60,000 Turkish lira (around $10,400) per root," he added.

Ordu province, which has rich flora, houses more than 700 registered plant types, including some 130 endemic types.

The lily consists of around 80 to 100 species, native to the temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere.

*Writing by Burak Bir