Envoy at 14:36, 3 August 2007

2007-08-03T14:36:06Z

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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Oriental Sweetgum
| status =
| image = Koeh-089.jpg
| image_width = 200px
| image_caption = 19th century illustration of Oriental Sweetgum
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Saxifragales]]
| familia = [[Altingiaceae]]
| genus = ''[[sweetgum|Liquidambar]]''
| species = '''''L. orientalis'''''
| binomial = ''Liquidambar orientalis''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
| range_map =
| range_map_width =
| range_map_caption =
}}

'''Oriental Sweetgum''' ('''''Liquidambar orientalis''''', also known as '''Turkish Sweetgum''' <ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.ncsu.edu/jcraulstonarboretum/publications/newsletters/12-fall_winter/newsletter.html Friends of the Arboretum Newsletter Fall 2000-Winter 2001| title = Horticulture|author=Todd Lasseigne|publisher=[[North Carolina State University]] [[JC Raulston Arboretum]]| access date=2007-05-18|language=English}} </ref> ) is a [[deciduous]] [[tree]] in the genus [[sweetgum|''Liquidambar'']] that occurs as pure stands mainly in the [[flood plains]] of southwestern [[Turkey]].

The forests of this [[Tertiary]] [[relict]] [[endemism|endemic]] [[taxon]] are found notably within a specially protected area between [[Dalyan]] and [[Köyceğiz]] in Muğla Province, where a 286 hectares zone is set aside as a [[nature reserve]] and [[arboretum]] for the preservation of the species. A large stand also surrounds [[Marmaris]]. These two areas are the better known oriental sweetgum forests due to their respective regions also being prominent centers of [[tourism]], although a big population covering nearly 100 hectares is also found in an inland region within Aydın Province extending between [[Çine]], [[Köşk]] and [[Umurlu]] districts. Yet another sweetgum forest area (88.5 hectares) under protection is situated in [[Burdur]]'s depending district of [[Bucak, Burdur|Bucak]] alongside Karacaören [[dam reservoir]] on the road to [[Antalya]] <ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.burdur-cevreorman.gov.tr/DKMP/kargisiglaormani Kargı Sweetgum Forest| title = [[Bucak, Burdur|Bucak]] Kargı village [[Protected Area|Protected Natural Area]] map and information|author=|publisher=[[Burdur]] General Directorate of Environment and Forestry| access date=|language=Turkish}} </ref>. The trees are also found locally in [[Denizli]]'s depending districts of [[Beyağaç]] and [[Tavas]]. <ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.rasimcetiner.com/Bilginotlar/Diger/Beyagac.pdf Beyağaç| title = Flora of [[Beyağaç]] and its surrounding region|author=Rasim Çetiner|publisher=[[Karadeniz Technical University]]| access date=|language=Turkish-Latin}} </ref> The total area of pure sweetgum forests in Turkey covers 1,348 hectares, all in the southwestern regions of the country. The present-day extension cortresponds to a marked decrease since the [[1940s]] level of 6000-7000 hectares, although the protective measures and infrastructure in place since the [[1980s]] helped stop loss of stands and led to slight improvements.

The name in [[Turkish language|Turkish]] for the particular species is ''Günlük ağacı'', while the trees of the [[genus]] as a whole are called ''Sığla ağacı'', a name also used in sole reference to ''oriental sweeetgum'' itself. The extraction of its [[sap]] and the production of an oil based thereof (''sığla yağı''), as well as exports of these products, play an important role in the local economy. The recolt of the sap and the preparation of the oil involve quite toilsome tasks lasting from May to November and consisting of several separate phases. There is a danger for the present generation of master oil makers not being replaced in near future. <ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.kesfetmekicinbak.com/atlaslar/dergi/01986 Atlas magazine April 2006 edition| title = Son Amber (''The last amber'')|author=|publisher=[[Atlas (magazine)]]| access date=|language=Turkish}} </ref>

In [[English language|English]], this oil is known under several names, shortly as [[Storax]] to englobe all sweetgum oils, or as [[Styrax]] [[Levant]], Asiatic [[Storax]], Balsam Storax, Liquid Storax, Oriental Sweetgum Oil or Turkish Sweetgum Oil. Diluted with a suitable [[carrier oil]], it is used externally for [[abrasions]], [[anxiety]], [[bronchitis]], [[catarrh]], coughs, cuts, [[ringworm]], [[scabies]], stress-related conditions and wounds. <ref>{{cite web | url = http://12121.hostinguk.com/Guide%20Oils.htm Styrax - Levant| title = Guide to Essential Oils|author=|publisher=| access date=|language=English}} </ref>

The status of and developments regarding the protection of [[Turkish Sweetgum]] continues to occupy local and national environmental agenda at a critical level in Turkey. Among the main causes for the loss of sweetgum forests was the cutting and felling of trees for opening new fields for agriculture, as well as the construction of three separate dams at localities which precisely corresponded to important habitats for the species. As such, liquidambar orientalis holds an important position in Turkey's [[biodiversity]] and among endemic species, is one of its best-known symbols.

==References==
<div class="references-small">
* [http://www.akdeniz.edu.tr/english/iufro/2007.pdf (full text)] {{cite book | title = Identification of Turkish Sweetgum (Liquidambar Orientalis) varieties by studying ten regions of Chloroplast DNA, p.166 ''In'' Proceedings of the IUFRO Division 2 Joint Conference: Low Input Breeding and Conservation of Forest Genetic Resources |author= Melis Or - Zeki Kaya|publisher=[[Akdeniz University]]| year= 2007|language=English}}
* [http://www.fao.org/forestry/docrep/wfcxi/publi/PDF/V2E_T7.PDF (full text)] {{cite book | title = Studies on the Ecology of Liquidambar Orientalis Mill. distributed on Aydın Mountains p. 165 |author= A. Çelik ([[Pamukkale University]]), A. Güvensen, Ö. Seçmen, M. Öztürk ([[Ege University]])|publisher=[[Food and Agriculture Organization]]| year= 1997|language=English}}
* [http://www.fao.org/forestry/docrep/wfcxi/publi/PDF/V2E_T7.PDF (full text)] {{cite book | title = The Yunus Emre Arboretum as a conservation tool for a relict Liquidambar Orientalis wood in the specially protected area of Dalyan - Köyceğiz (S.W. Turkey) p. 165 |author= Yahya Ayaşlıgil, Adnan Uzun ([[İstanbul University]])|publisher=[[Food and Agriculture Organization]]| year= 1997|language=English}}

==Footnotes==
<references/>

[[Category:Saxifragales|Sweetgum, Oriental]]
[[Category:Flora of Turkey|Sweetgum, Oriental]]
[[Category:Medicinal plants|Sweetgum, Oriental]]
[[Category:Muğla|Sweetgum, Oriental]]
[[Category:Aydın|Sweetgum, Oriental]]
[[Category:Denizli|Sweetgum, Oriental]]
[[Category:Burdur|Sweetgum, Oriental]]

Liquidambar orientalis - Revision history

Envoy at 14:36, 3 August 2007