Diversity of the herbaceous flora and their indigenous medicinal uses at Theeing Valley, District Astore, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Abstract

Background: The study was conducted during the years 2022 to 2024 in Theeing Valley, District Astore, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, with the aim of creating an inventory of herbaceous flora and documenting indigenous knowledge from local communities and plant experts.

Methods: We collected ethnomedicinal information from the study area via questionnaires, close and open interviews, involving 42 local inhabitants during the entire field survey. To assess plant species importance, we used indices like relative frequency citation, fidelity level, use value, Informant Consensus Factor.

Results: The research documented 62 herbaceous plants for therapeutic use in different ailments, followed by 49 genera which belongs to 26 different families. Among these, the Asteraceae family found predominant with (10) species. The study totally focused on herbaceous flora, among parts use in the recorded flora, the leaves (25%) were the dominating part of the plants, while the prevalent preparation method was decoction (58%). Whereas the life form hemicryptophyte and leaf spectra nanophyll dominance indicates a harsh climate in the region. The highest RFC (0.952), UV (0.905), for Delphinium brunonianum. FL (100%) reported for Thymus linearis and Delphinium brunonianum whereas the highest ICF (0.97) for the Urinary tract infection indicates the importance in the current study area. Pearson correlation analysis showed a strong positive correlation (r = 0.701, r² = 0.492) between RFC and UV. ANOVA revealed significant differences in UV (F = 80.01) and RFC (F = 108.76) across the three clusters, with p < 0.0001, indicating notable variation in cluster means.

Conclusions: The research highlights how indigenous communities use medicinal plants for different ailments. Despite elders having valuable indigenous knowledge, it is declining due to oral transmission only. Emphasizing the need for documentation is crucial to preserve this wisdom for future research.

Keywords: Astore, Ethnobotany, medicinal plants, Parishing, traditional knowledge