Ethnobotanical profiling and floristic diversity of Bana Valley, Kotli (Azad Jammu and Kashmir), Pakistan

Objective: To document the medicinal and other folk uses of native plants of the Bana Valley of district of Kotli-Azad Jammu Kashmir with a view to preserve the ethnobotanical knowledge of this area and to develop an ethnobotanical inventory of the species diversity. Methods: The fieldwork was condu...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Muhammad Shoaib Amjad
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2015-04-01
Series:Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2221169115303488
Description
Summary:Objective: To document the medicinal and other folk uses of native plants of the Bana Valley of district of Kotli-Azad Jammu Kashmir with a view to preserve the ethnobotanical knowledge of this area and to develop an ethnobotanical inventory of the species diversity. Methods: The fieldwork was conducted during a period of one year. Data were collected through semi-structured questionnaire and interview of the informants including indigenous people, tribal people, and traditional health practitioners residing in the study area. Results: The present study documented etnobotanical uses of 86 plant species belonging to 81 genera and 47 families. This study revealed that most of the species were used medicinally (74 spp; 42.29%). Leaves found to be the most frequently used part (56 spp., 36.13%) for preparation of indigenous recipes and fodder purpose. Conclusions: The current research provides a huge lump of ethnobotanical knowledge and depicts strong human-plant interaction. It is an urgent need to document indigenous uses of plants for future domestication.
ISSN:2221-1691