First Floristic Checklist of Dilbori (OGHI), District Mansehra, KP, Pakistan

Junaid Ahmed1, Inayat Ur Rahman 1,2 *, Abbas Hussain Shah 1, Farhana Ijaz 2, Zulfiqar Khan 1, Niaz Ali 2, Said Muhammad 2, Zeeshan Ahmed1 and Muhammad Afzal 2

1Department of Botany, Govt. Post Graduate College, Mansehra-21300, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan 2Department of Botany, Hazara University Mansehra-21300, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Received: November 16, 2016 Accepted: January 31, 2017 ABSTRACT

Dilbori (study area) is an unexplored area so it is imperative to introduce region in floristic terms for the first time. Field surveys were carried out to explore the biodiversity of different parts of the study area in different seasons during 2016-17. Total 104 species belonging to 88 genera and 54 families were recorded from the study area, out of which 97 plant species belongs to Angiosperms, 3 to Gymnosperms, 3 to Fungi and 1 was Pteridophytic species. On the basis of plant habit, herbaceous growth form dominates the study area with 56 species, followed by trees with 30 species, shrubs with 14 species and mushrooms with 3 species. Whereas, one parasitic plant species was also found. Among all 54 families, Rosaceae was the leading family with 12 species, followed by Asteraceae with 8 species, Lamiaceae with 7 species, Moraceae and Papilionaceae with 4 species each. Oleaceae, Pinaceae, Poaceae and Solanaceae had 3 species each. Furthermore, 12 families had 2 species each. While the remaining 33 families had 1 species each. Study reflects the overall floristic scenario and may be beneficial as reference study for ecological, conservation and sustainable use of plants. This exploration is a part of an ongoing project in which we will explore ecological as well as ethnobotanical gradients of the regional flora in near future.

KEYWORDS: Floristic checklist, Biodiversity, Rosaceae, Oghi, Pakistan

INTRODUCTION

Dilbori is a village and union council of Tehsil Oghi, district Mansehra, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan (Figure 1). It is situated between 34.55579˚ North and 072.97191˚ East with highest altitude of 1719m. It is bordered by Battagram on North side, Mansehra on South side, Torgarh on West and Battal on East side. Tehsil Oghi was named due to main city of the area as it is about 1000-year-old town and the whole area is now known as Oghi. Whereas, the original name of Oghi is Agror Valley, it is a small valley lying at the foothills of Black Mountain and is separated from Pakhli by the ridge of Tanglai [1]. There are five Union Councils in Agror Valley which are; Oghi, Belian, Kathai, Shamdhara and Dilbori. Peerpatta, Choor Kalam Ghanian, Bagrian, Dilbori, Jeshkot, Tarwai, Shahtoot are main villages of this Union Council. The largest mountain ranges [2], plains, valleys [3-6] and lakes [7] are the distinct features of Mansehra. There is much diversity in the flora due to the variability in topography and climate. According to the report of Walter and Hamiston [8], approximately 4,22,000 flowering plants have been reported globally and about 6000 flowering plants species so far have been documented from Pakistan [9]. The main source of botanical information of a particular area is its floristic checklists [10]. Floristic study of any given area helps to evaluate the plant wealth and its potential values [11]. Local plant species documentation is very necessary to introduce specific floral species of the local area, their occurrence and finding new species [12]. Many workers have contributed comprehensive floristic checklists of local flora in different regions [13-15]. As Pakistan has a varied climate and is rich in flora, scattered over a large area [16].

*Corresponding Author: Inayat Ur Rahman, Department of Botany, Govt. Post Graduate College, Mansehra-21300, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Email:[email protected]; [email protected]

41 Ahmed et al., 2017

Figure 1: Map of the study area. (Map by Inayat Ur Rahman)

A number of authors have contributed comprehensive floristic checklists of local flora in different regions [13-15]. Pakistan is rich in floral diversity because of variability in climate [16]. The study area has great potential for flourishing a rich plant biodiversity due to the presence of diverse microhabitats and topographic features. Therefore, the present study was planned with an objective to document the floristic checklist of this unexplored study area. This study will provide a baseline for the future plant ecological, conservation and ethnobotanical investigations of the study area.

42 J. Appl. Environ. Biol. Sci. , 7(3)41-48, 2017

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Field surveys were carried out to explore the biodiversity of various parts of the study area in different seasons of 2016-17. Surveys were carried out during flowering and fruiting stages and photographs of plant species were taken. Data recorded in the field notebook were; scientific name, vernacular name, family, habit. Plants were serially tagged and properly pressed, dried, poisoned and mounted on the herbarium sheets [17-19]. Plants were identified with the help of available literature and Flora of Pakistan [20-22]. Voucher specimens were deposited for accession numbers in Herbarium, Department of Botany, Government Post Graduate College, Mansehra. The plant names were checked and updated with the online website (www.theplantlist.org) of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew assessed on 25 January, 2017.

Figure 2: Some photographs of recorded plant species captured during field work in the study area (A) First author during collection, (B) Prunus domestica , (C) Rubus fruiticosus, (D) Convolvulus arvensis, (E) Oxalis corniculata and (F) Callistemon citrinus [Photos: A, B, C by Junaid Ahmad and D,E,F by Farhana Ijaz]

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RESULTS

A total of 104 species belonging to 88 genera and 54 families were recorded from the study area out of which 97 (93%) plant species belonged to angiosperms, 3 (3%) species to gymnosperms, 3 (3%) fungal species and 1 (1%) was a Pteridophytic species (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Division of the floral species recorded from the study area

On the basis of plant habit, herbaceous growth form dominates the study area with 56 species having 55%, followed by trees with 30 (29%) species, shrubs 14 (14%) species and mushroom 3 (3%) species. Whereas, one parasitic plant species was also found and collected (Table 1 & Figure 4).

Figure 4: Growth form of the species recorded from the study area

Among all 54 families, Rosaceae was the most dominant family with 12 species, followed by Asteraceae with 8 species, Lamiaceae with 7 species, Moraceae and Papilionaceae with 4 species each. Oleaceae, Pinaceae, Poaceae and Solanaceae had 3 species each and then they were followed by 12 families including; Alliaceae, Amaranthaceae, Apiaceae, Brassicaceae Chenopodiaceae, Ebenaceae, Fabaceae, Meliaceae, Mimosaceae, Myrtaceae, Polygonaceae and Rannunculaceae with 2 species each. While, the remaining 33 families i.e. Araliaceae, Balsaminaceae, Berberidaceae, Caesalpinaceae, Cannabaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Convolvulaceae, Cuscutaceae,

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Cyperaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fumariaceae, Geraniaceae, Juglandaceae, Lythraceae, Malvaceae, Morchellaceae, Onagraceae, Oxalidaceae, Physalacriaceae, Plantaginaceae, Platanaceae, Primulaceae, Pteridaceae, Rubiaceae, Rutaceae, Russulaceae, Salicaceae, Sapindaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Simaroubaceae, Thymaleaceae, Urticaceae and Vitaceae had 1 species each (Table 1 & Figure 5).

Figure 5: Floral species family wise distribution of recorded from the study area

Table 1: List of plant species, biological spectrum and phenology of Dilbori, Tehsil Oghi, District Mansehra, KP, Pakistan S. No. Plant Species Family Name Plant Habit

1. Acacia modesta Wall. Mimosaceae T 2. Acacia nilotica (L.) Delile Mimosaceae S 3. Achyranthus aspera L. Amaranthaceae H 4. Adiantum capillus-veneris L. Pteridaceae H 5. Ailanthus altissima (Mill) Swingle Simaroubaceae T 6. Ajuga integrifolia Buch.-Ham. Lamiaceae H 7. Allium cepa L. Alliaceae H 8. Allium sativum L. Alliaceae H 9. Amaranthus viridus L. Amaranthaceae H 10. Anagallis arvensis Primulaceae H 11. Avena sativa L . Poaceae H 12. Azadirachta indica A.Juss. Meliaceae T 13. Bauhinia variegata L. Caesalpinaceae T 14. Berberis lycium Royle Berberidaceae S 15. Brassica campestris L. Brassicaceae H 16. Bromus secalinus L. Poaceae H 17. Callistemon citrinus (Curtis) Skeels Myrtaceae T 18. Cannabis sativa L. Cannabaceae H 19. Capsella bursa-pastoris (L.) Medic . Brassicaceae H 20. Cedrus deodara Roxb. ex Lamb. Pinaceae T 21. Chenopodium album L. Chenopodiaceae H 22. Cichorum intybus L. Asteraceae H 23. Clematis grata Wall. Rannunculaceae S 24. Convolvulus arvensis L. Convolvulaceae H 25. Conyza sp. Asteraceae H 26. Coriandrum sativum L. Apiaceae H

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27. Cotoneaster microphyllus Wall.exLindl. Rosaceae S 28. Cuscuta reflexa Roxb. Cuscutaceae Pp 29. Cynodon dactylon L. Poaceae H 30. Cyperus rotundus L. Cyperaceae H 31. Dalbergia sissoo DC. Papilionaceae T 32. Daphne mucronata Royle Thymelaeaceae S 33. Datura alba L. Solanaceae H 34. Diospyros kaki L.f. Ebenaceae T 35. Diospyros lotus L. Ebenaceae T 36. Dodonaea viscosa (L.) Jacq. Sapindaceae S 37. Duchesnea indica (Jacks.) Focke Rosaceae H 38. Dysphania ambrosiodes (L.) Mosyakin & Clemants Chenopodiaceae H 39. Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl. Rosaceae T 40. Eucalyptus globulus Labill Myrtaceae T 41. Euphorbia helioscopia L. Euphorbiaceae H 42. Ficus carica L. Moraceae T 43. Ficus palmata Forssk. Moraceae T 44. Foeniculum vulgare Mill. Apiaceae H 45. Fragaria nubicola Lindl. Rosaceae H 46. Fumaria indica (Hausskn.) Pugsley Fumariaceae H 47. Galium aparine L. Rubiaceae H 48. Geranium wallichinum D. Don ex Sweet. Geraniaceae H 49. Hedera nepalensis K. Koch Araliaceae H 50. Helianthus annuus L. Asteraceae H 51. Impatiens bicolor Royle Balsaminaceae H 52. Indigofera heterantha Brandis Papilionaceae S 53. Isodon rugosus (Wall.ex Benth.) Codd Lamiaceae S 54. Jasminum humile L. Oleaceae S 55. Jasminum offcinale L. Oleaceae S 56. Juglans regia L. Juglandaceae T 57. Lathyrus aphaca L. Fabaceae H 58. Lathyrus odoratus L. Fabaceae H 59. Malva parviflora L. Malvaceae H 60. Melia azedarach L. Meliaceae T 61. Mentha longifolia (L.) L. Lamiaceae H 62. Mentha royleana L. Lamiaceae H 63. Morus alba L. Moraceae T 64. Morus nigra L. Moraceae T 65. Morchella esculenta Fr. Morchellaceae M 66. Oenothera rosea L. Her. ex Aiton Onagraceae H 67. Olea ferruginea Royle Oleaceae T 68. Origanum vulgare L. Lamiaceae H 69. Oxalis corniculata L. Oxalidaceae H 70. Parthinium hysterophorus L. Asteraceae H 71. Pinus roxburghii Sarg. Pinaceae T 72. Pinus wallichiana Jackson Pinaceae T 73. Plantago lanceolata L. Plantaginaceae H 74. Platanus orientalis L Platanaceae T 75. Prunus amagydalus Rosaceae T 76. Prunus armeniaca L. Rosaceae T 77. Prunus domestica L. Rosaceae T 78. Prunus persica (L.) Batsch Rosaceae T 79. Punica granatum L. Lythraceae T 80. Pyrus pashia Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don Rosaceae T 81. Ranunculus muricatus L. Ranunculaceae H 82. Robinia pseudo-acacia L. Papilionaceae T 83. Rosa indica L. Rosaceae S 84. Rosa webbiana Wall. ex Royle Rosaceae S 85. Russula emetica (Schaeef.) Pers. (1796) Russulaceae M 86. Rubus fruiticosus Agg. Rosaceae S 87. Rumex dentatus D. Don Polygonaceae H 88. Rumex hastatus L. Polygonaceae H

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89. Salix alba L. Salicaceae T 90. Salvia moorcroftiana Wall. Lamiaceae H 91. Solanum nigrum L. Solanaceae H 92. Solanum xanthocarpum L. Solanaceae H 93. Sonchus asper L. Asteraceae H 94. Stellaria media (L.) Vill. Caryophyllaceae H 95. Tagetes minuta . L. Asteraceae H 96. Taraxacum officinale G.H. Weber ex Wiggers. Asteraceae H 97. Thymus linearis Benth. Lamiaceae H 98. Trifolium repens L. Papilionaceae H 99. Urtica dioica L. Urticaceae H 100. Verbascum thapsus L. Scrophulariaceae H 101. Vitis vinifera L. Vitaceae S 102. Xanthium strumarium L. Asteraceae H 103. Xerula megalospora (Clem.) Redhead, Ginns & Shoemaker (1987) Physalacriaceae M 104. Zanthoxylum armatum DC. Rutaceae T Abbreviations for Plant habit: H=Herb, S=Shrub, T=Tree and M=Mushroom.

DISCUSSION

Floristic structure is the main reflection of vegetation of any area. The sum of total wild and /or cultivated species of a particular region is its flora [23]. Plant species has its own ecological amplitude and interaction with its environment and also with other species [24]. As for as the plant habit concerns, herbaceous growth form leads in the study area with 56 species followed by trees with 30 (29%) species. Our findings are congruent with many researchers of allied, neighboring and national regions [5,17,18,25-29]. The leading family of this study area is Rosaceae with 12 species, followed by Asteraceae with 8 species and Lamiaceae with 7 species. Iqbal et al. [30] and Ijaz et al. [19] reported Asteraceae as the most leading family. Whereas, A.U. Rahman et al., [31] from Swat and Ahmad et al. [29] from Mardan reported Poaceae as the leading families.

Author's contributions This manuscript is part of JA BS (Hons.) work. JA conducted the fieldwork, collected data and plant species. JA and ZK conducted the herbarium work, AHS confirmed the plants specimens. JA and IUR drafted the manuscript. IUR and AHS supervised the work. NA, MA, SM and ZA helped in revision of the manuscript. All the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

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