Tunceli’s endangered reverse tulips face 700,000 TL penalty for damage

Endemic “reverse tulips” (locally called “hüzün çiçeği” or “ağlayan gelin”) bloom for only about 20 days each year in the high‑altitude areas of Eastern Anatolia, chiefly around Ağdat village in Ovacık district, Tunceli Province, Turkey. The rare flowers attract nature‑photographers and tourists, but increasing foot traffic has led visitors to step on the plants, trample seedlings and even illegally pull them.

Turkish authorities have responded by raising the administrative fine for harming or uprooting the protected species to roughly 700,000 Turkish lira, effective from 2026, and have announced tighter monitoring of the sites. Local witnesses such as Nesrin Söylemez urged visitors to stay on designated paths, while conservationist Bülent Yaşar emphasized the need for careful stewardship of the fragile habitat.