DIVERSITY OF HYPERICUM L SPECIES IN ADJARA, GEORGIA

Out of the 36 "hot spots" of global biodiversity, Georgia is part of the Caucasus and Iran-Anatolian hot spots. In the Caucasus ecoregion, two refugia have been identified: the Colchic and Hyrcanian. Adjara is part of the Colchis Refugium, it is the richest floristic region in the Caucasus in terms of the number of plant species per unit area. In the flora of Adjara, up to 1837 species of plants are recorded. The genus Hypericum L. stands out for its variety of species, it is represented by 18 species in Georgia, there are 12 species of this genus in Adjara: 1. H. tetrapterum Fries., 2. H. androsaemum L., 3. H. nordmanii Boiss., 4. H. bupleuroides Griseb. 5. H.caucasicum (Woronow) Gorschk., 6. H.grossheimii Kem.-Nath., 7. H. linarioides Bosse., 8. H.montanum L., 9. H. perforatum L., 10. H.venustum Fenzl, 11. H. xylosteifolium Spach., 12. H. mutilum L. Hypericum L. is a well-known medicinal plant. Its species are also popular from an ethnobotanical standpoint, It has been used in folk medicine since ancient times. As a healing agent for open wounds, pain reliever, sedative, etc. One of the most widespread and well-studied species is Hypericum perforatum, there are many scientific studies on it, covering both phytochemical composition and biological activity. In the last period, the distribution areas of the species have come under anthropogenic pressure. Habitat degradation threatens species, some of which have narrow local distributions and include: northern Caucasus, Transcaucasia, and Turkey. Our goal was to study the biodiversity of Hypericum species common in Adjara and to evaluate and describe species populations using the releve method, especially species with a narrow local distribution.