ESSENTIAL OIL CONTENT AND GERMINATION BEHAVIOR OF ROSA SPECIES CULTIVATED IN THE LAKE VAN BASIN, TURKEY

Roses are one of the most important flowers grown in Van lake basin. A lot of rose species and old roses were grown in the tradition of the Van garden and have been one of the indispensable elements in Van garden culture. Rosa × damascena Miller (Gül-i Muhammed) has also taken an important place in the traditional Van cuisine. Altogether 12 rose taxa that were identified in Anatolia are found in Van lake basin. Four of them are cultivated in the gardens of the region: Rosa dumalis Bechs, Rosa canina L., Rosa heckeliana Tratt. ssp. vanheurckiana (Crépin) Ö. Nilsson and Rosa pisiformis (Christ) D. Sosn. Bieb. The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the contents of the essential oils obtained from the traded Isparta rose oil (Rosa × damascene var. trigintipetala) with the contents in Gül-i Muhammed rose oil (Rosa × damascena) using GC and GC/MS. Germination of this species’ achenes grown in Van region is delayed due to a hard woody pericarp. Cellulose and lignin ratios of the species achenes were determined.