PHYTODIVERSITY, TAXONOMY AND ETHNOBOTANY OF SALT TOLERANT WILD PLANT SPECIES IN NORTH PUNJAB-PAKISTAN

Abstract

his project is the systematic exploration of halophytic floral diversity of Salt range (North Punjab-Pakistan) using quantitative and qualitative ethnobotanical and micro-morphological characterization. The field areas includes five sites that are Khewra, Kalabagh, Soon sakesar, Warcha and Kallar kahar with their allied areas. Plants were collected, dried, preserved, identified, mounted on herbarium sheets, and deposited in the Herbarium of Pakistan (ISL), Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad. A total of 60 wild halophytes belonging to 21 families and 40 genera were reported. The highest number of species are representing by family are Poaceae (15 species) and Amaranthaceae (12 species) followed by Mimosaceae (4 species), Boraginaceae (3 species), Euphorbiaceae (3 species), and Solanaceae (3 species) while the rest of the families represented by 1 or 2 species each. The first section is confined to vegetative and floral characters of halophytes. The second section is confined to palyno morphological characters studied by Light Microscope (LM) and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The pollen micromorphological variations observed during this study include pollen shape and size, polar and equatorial diameter, pore size, P/E ratio, apertures, and exine thickness. It is noticed that among the members of Boraginaceae, Capparaceae, Cleomaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Mimosaceae, Nitrariaceae, Papilionaceae, Polygonaceae, Resedaceae, Solanaceae, and Zygophyllaceae, the pollen were tricolporate. Furthermore, the Polypantoporate pollen were observed in Amaranthaceae. Similarly, remarkable variation regarding pollen exine sculpturing was reported among various families from reticulate, microechinate, scabrate, to microechinate-areolate types. The third section confined to the diagnostic characters of foliar epidermal anatomy includes diverse shapes of epidermal cells that is polygonal, regular, irregular, wavy, and isodiametric with undulate, straight, sinuate, and curved walls. Diversity in stomatal types were also reported. Anomocytic, paracytic, and anisocytic type of stomata were observed in Amaranthaceae while paracytic type of stomata in Poaceae, Actinocytic stomata in Boraginaceae and Tamaricaceae, diacytic and staurocytic stomata in Papilionaceae, Plantaginaceae, and Zygophyllaceae. Similarly, Different types of trichomes such as glandular, non-glandular, cylindrical, capitate, non-capitate, falcate, unicellular, multicellular, conical, and stellate among various families while macro-hairs, micro-hairs, hooks, prickles, and papillae werereported in Poaceae. Ethnomedicinal uses documented by interviewing of 138 informants (70 men and 68 women) and 13 traditional health practitioners (THPs). The maximum number of informants were between 51-60 years. The fourth section comprised the ethnobotanical data was analyzed quantitatively using use value (UV), relative frequency of citation (RFC), fidelity level (FL), relative importance (RI) and informant consensus factor (ICF). Quantitative analysis revealed that Polygonum plebeium R.Br.(0.91) has highest UV and Acacia nilotica (L.) Delile (0.43) has highest RFC value. The highest ICF value (0.65) was found for muscle and skeletal disorders category. Malcolmia Africana (L.) R.Br, Peganum harmala L., and Solanum incanum L. were found to have 100% FL. The maximum value of R.I (100) was calculated for Tamarix aphylla (L.) H.Karst. and Tephrosia purpurea (L.) Pers. The rich ethnomedicinal data about salt tolerant plants was the first report exploration to best of our knowledge in this area. It is suggested that this baseline data should by used further to investigate phytochemical and pharmacological potential of these medicinal plants for natural drug discovery development. This study further recommends to work on these salt tolerant plants with respect to their conservation status and write monograph on salt tolerant plants based on palyno-anatomical characters in addition to ethnomedicinal data and advanced systematics tools and features.