Traditional knowledge of medicinal plants in Yeşilli (Mardin, Turkey)

The Province of Mardin, located in Upper Mesopotamia on the old Silk Road, has hosted 30 civilizations and the amalgamation of various languages and religions. The District of Yeşilli, in Mardin Province, is an important region that shares this cultural richness. The aim of this ethnobotanical study, the first in the district, was to record the plants used for medicinal purposes by the residents of Yeşilli and to achieve which are also used for food purposes. The fieldwork to document the traditional knowledge of plants was carried out in Yeşilli District from March 2017 to April 2022. The data were collected by interviewing 82 informants. Additionally, the data were analyzed based on the Use Value (UV) and Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) to determine both the cultural significance and the knowledge of medicinal plants among the informants. A total of 83 taxa belonging to 34 families were identified in the region. The majority of remedies were prepared by infusion and decoction. Aerial parts were the most frequently used plant parts. The utilization of medicinal plants is still widespread among the residents of Yeşilli. Given the cultural diversity of the region, this study is of invaluable significance for future ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological research.