Life form, biological spectrum and ethno-medicinal uses of the flora of Taloqa hills, Western himalayas, Muzaffarabad
By: Muhammad Nasir, Muhammad Qayyum Khan, Ansar Mehmood
Key Words: Leaf size, Life form, Hemicryptophytes, Ethnobotany
Int. J. Biosci. 9(6), 8-18, December 2016.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12692/ijb/9.6.8-18
[Generate Certificate]Abstract
The present paper gives an account of different life form categories, biological spectrum and ethnobotanical uses of the flora of Taloqa hills Muzaffarabad. The flora of Taloqa hills consists of 395 plant species belonging to 66 families. The biological spectrum showed that hemicryptophytes (24.55%) were the dominant life form of the area. They were followed by therophytes (24.30%), nanophanerophytes (21%), megaphanerophytes (16%), geophytes (9%) and lianas (5%) respectively. The leaf size spectra comprised of microphylls (42%), leptophylls (28%), Nanophylls (21%), Mesophylls (7%), and Megaphylls (2%). The hemicryptophytic dominance indicates that the area has hemicryptophytic type of phytoclimate. A total of 20 medicinally important plants belonging to 18 families were recorded to be used locally for the treatment of 68 different ailments and diseases in the study area. The area is under high anthropogenic pressure so strict safety measures needs to be taken to protect biodiversity in the area.
