HOME OF TURKEY’S RARE AQUATIC PLANTS
Lake Acarlar Flooded Forest is rich in flora and fauna due to the convergence here of all the characteristics of the forest and wetland ecosystems. Both the forest itself and its ground cover exhibit great diversity owing to the damp climate. Although ash is the predominant tree, elm and mountain alder are both abundant. And what luck! The water violet (Hottonia palustris), a delicate flower that grows in the water, can be seen in Turkey only in a few wetlands in and around Lake Acarlar Flooded Forest. Other rare aquatic plants of Turkey such as the summer snowflake (Leucojum aestivum) and swamp fern (Blechnum serrulatum) also grow here. Yet other species observed on the site include the yellow waterlily (Nuphar luteum), the white waterlily (Nymphaea alba) and water hemp (Apocynem cannabinum). Centaurea, genista luncea, sand reeds, and various species of lilies and euphorbia are observed on the sand dunes between Lake Acarlar Flooded Forest and the Black Sea coast. Brambles, a species of wild brush that grows at most 3-4 meters high, are found on the north coast. lake Acarlar Flooded Forest lies within the bounds of the Kefken-Karasu Coast Important Plant Area, which encompasses a mosaic of dune, marsh, open water and flooded forest habitats.
