ETHNO-MEDICINAL USES OF WILD HERBS AND SHRUBS OF TEHSIL YAZMAN, PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Abstract

The present study was conducted to document the ethno-medicinal uses of wild herbs and shrubs of Tehsil Yazman, District Bahawalpur, Punjab. Information was gathered by interviewing local people. The collected plants were identified with the help of Flora of Pakistan. Plants were preserved and mounted on herbarium sheets and placed in the Department of Botany, Government Sadiq College Women University, Bahawalpur, Pakistan. A total of 118 species belonging to 35 families were identified. It was noticed that the indigenous people of the study area use plants in different ways in their daily life such as medicines, fuel, fruit, vegetable, forage/fodder, ornamental etc. Three families were found in abundance i.e. Poaceae, Fabaceae and Asteraceae. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first report on the ethno-medicinal uses of wild herbs and shrubs of Tehsil Yazman. It will be helpful in providing a baseline for future studies relating to pharmacological as well as biochemical studies of these wild plant species