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

• Published in: Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine
• Main Author: Muhammad Shoaib Amjad
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2015
• Subjects: Ethnobotany; Bana Valley; Indigenous knowledge; Conservation; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Biology (General); QH301-705.5; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2221-1691(15)30348-8; https://doaj.org/article/3a2095d6affe45dbacad528f1f42b764

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.