SURVEY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS IN NORTHERN AREAS

WWF-Pakistan

1.2.1 Surveys at Shinaki, Ghulkin, Bar and Bulashbar
WWF-Pakistan under the NACP, conducted surveys at Shinaki, Ghulkin, Bar and Bulashbar valley pastures for identification of medicinal plant species and their status. Based on the results and recommendation of the survey reports WWF-Pakistan developed three medicinal plant brochures i.e. The Herbs of Ghulkin Valley, Medicinal Herbs of Bulashbar Valley and Medicinal Plants of Bar and Shinaki.

The basic aim of the brochures was to attract pharmaceutical companies to sustainable extraction of medicinal herbs in these valleys and to act as awareness tools for the conservation of medicinal herbs. The selection of species for the brochures was made on the basis of their economic value and their availability on a large scale.

For Ghulkin valley information is available for seven species of medicinal plants, viz., Artemisia brevifolia (A. maritime), Ephedra gerardiana, Hippohae rehamnoides, Peganum harmala, Rumex hastatus, Valeriana jatmansii and Berberis lycium. Similarly, the medicinal herbs of Bulashbar valley bear information on Artemisia brevifolia (A. maritime), Hippohae rehamnoides, Peganum harmala, Bonium persicum, Sassurea lappa, and Valeriana wallichii. The medicinal plants of Bar and Shinaki include information on Onosma bracteatum, Ephedra gerardiana, Viola pilosa, Thymus linearis, Valeriana jatmansii, Mentha sylvistris, Carum bulbocastanum and Juniperus macropoda.

Information given in the brochures focuses on nomenclature of plants, general description, habitat and distribution, mode of collection, their medicinal properties and local uses of the plants as traditional drugs.

1.2.2 Surveys at Minimarg, Nagi and Domail
Minimarg and associated areas are rich in floral resources. Floral species were surveyed in five nullahs by WWF-Pakistan, the Forest Department and the Wildlife and Nature Resources Conservation Committee (WNRC) Qamri-Minimarg-Astore during 2002 (Kamran, 2002). The flora were divided into three groups’ i.e. herbs, shrubs and trees. The region has transitional zones where different kinds of herbs and trees consisting of juniper, kail, birch, popular and willow can be observed at one given location. However, shrubs of the area are limited, mainly including Rosa and Berberis spp.

The study reported 32 medicinal plants in Minimarg. Most of the plants were identified at the spot. The specimens of unknown species were collected and their local names were recorded for further inquiry. Most of the identified plants have medicinal value. The following table contains the species recorded during the survey.

Table 2. Floral survey at Minimarg, Astore valley

Herbs

Shrubs

Trees

Source: Kamran. M. 2002. Wildlife Survey Report of Minimarg, Nagi and Domail villages of Astore valley. Report. WWF-Pakistan, Gilgit.

1.2.3 Survey at Bulashbar Nullah, Astore
WWF-Pakistan arranged a study conducted by Zabta Khan Shinwari, Syed S. Galani, and Mohammad Akhlas, Department of Biology, Quid-e-Azam University, Islamabad in the Bulashbar nullah of Astore valley in 2000. The plants were collected, identified to the species level and arranged by family, pressed, dried preserved, mounted and ethno botanical information was collected on these plants following the procedure of Martin (1955). A detailed report on this study is available at WWF-Pakistan, Gilgit office (Shinwari et al. 2000) Since the list of the plants identified is very long, it is included in Appendix 2.