Traditional knowledge of medicinally important plants among the Torwali community of Hinduraj areas of Northern Pakistan

Background: This study was designed to explore and document the ethnomedicinally valuable plants of Torwali community of Hinduraj area of District Swat. This area is unique, floristically being closer to the convergence point of three mighty mountainous ranges viz. Himalayas, Karakorum and Hindu Kush. Objectives: This study was designed to document the ethnobotanically valuable plant resources among Torwali community of Hindu Raj area. Methods: Plant specimens were collected by arranging repeated plant collection trips to the study area. Primary data was collected by interviews, corner meetings and distributing questionnaires. The data acquired was tabulated in Excel sheets and analyzed by using PcOrd version 5. Results: A total of 110 plant species were documented. Of these 88 species (80%) were used as medicine, 10 species (9.09%) were used as edibles, 8 species (7.27%) were used a spices and condiments, 6 species (5.45%) were utilized as fruits, 5 species (4.54%) were used as veterinary medicine for livestock, 3 species (2.72%) were used as fuelwood, 3 species (2.72%) served as fodder and 3 species (2.72%) were valuable as timber. Families with high family importance values (FIV) were Pinaceae (23.3), Taxaceae (3.3), Colchicaceae (17.54), Alliaceae and Liliaceae (12.5 each) followed by Melanthiaceae and Rosaceae (93.3), Lamiaceae (62.5), Fabaceae (46.6) Solanaceae (40), Polygoniaceae (30) Berberidaceae (25.8), Brassicaceae (22.5), Asteraceae (14.16), Ebenaceae (13.3) and Zygophyllaceae (3.3). Prunus domestica and Ajuga bracteosa had highest values of Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC) i.e., 0.141 followed by Malus domestica and Malva sylvestris with RFC value of 0.133 each. As per IUCN criterion and 64 plants (54.14%) were found to be rare, 34 plants (29.82%) were ranked as vulnerable, and 24 species (10.52%) were infrequent. Morchella conica and Valeriana jatamansi were found to be endangered. Conclusion: The study area is very rich in terms of ethnobotanical knowledge and the Torwali people have kept this valuable knowledge intact so far. In addition to the medicinal use of local flora, the locals are also utilizing these plants for multiple uses. Anthropogenic stresses such as urbanization, agricultural extension, over grazing, deforestation and landslides are a threat to local flora. Skimmia laureola, Trillium govanianum, Colchicum autumnale, Morchella conica, Paeonia emodi, Podophylum hexandrum were found to be over exploited. This study strongly recommends ex-situ conservation measures to conserve the plant resources of this locality. Keywords: Herbal treatment; Conservation status; Traditional recipes; Ethnobotanical indices; Therapeutic classes