Ethnobotany is a biological, economic, and cultural interrelationship study between people and plants of an area in which they exist. Ethnobotanical studies focused on contributing to plant biodiversity knowledge (taking into account that the biological diversity as well as human awareness about the uses, applications, and natural resource conservation) on one hand and take this knowledge for further social and scientific interventions on the other hand ethnobotanical research also helps in establishment of priorities of local community to ensure that the local values are translated into rational use of resources and effective conservation of biological diversity and cultural knowledge. Indigenous knowledge of plants is as old as human civilization but the term ethnobotany was used for the first time by an American botanist John. W. Harsh Berger in 1896, to study plants used by primitive and indigenous communities. To discover the secret uses of plants, ethnobotany has become an important part of our world. Ethnobotany includes all kind of relationships between people and plants. The definition of ethnobotany can be sum up in four words i.e. People, Plants, Interactions, and Uses. The term ethnobotany was for the first time used by John Harsh berg in 1896 [1]. Recent ethnobotanical surveys among families have brought new information about the plant. In Indo-Pak first record of plant medicine were compiled in Ayurveda between 2500-600 BC. The system traces its origin to Greek medicine, which was adopted by Arabs and then spread to India and Europe. About 80% population of the world depends on the traditional system of health care [2,3] Plants have been used since the dawn of human civilization for readymade food, medicines for various ailments, fodder/ forage for cattle, burning, flower for celebration, services to earn, honey collection, making agricultural tools, timber for construction and many more useful items [1,4,5]. Over 5000 plant species belonging to angiosperms are used worldwide for medicinal purposes. Medicinal plant products have been used successfully for various ailments both externally and internally. Despite the increasing use of synthetic drugs, plants materials have persisted as the “treatment of choice” as they have no or fewer side effects [6]. According to WHO, 80% of the population in the developing countries rely on medicinal plants healthcare. Modern pharmacopeia still contains at least 25% drugs derived from plants [7], the sub –tropical areas of Pakistan are a diverse habitat for variation plant species, these areas lie in the Hindu Kush and lesser Himalayas [8-10]. The natural resources of Hindu Kush – Himalayas are deteriorating more rapidly than many other region around the world [7,11].

The present study was aimed to explore the indigenous knowledge of plants from Tehsil Kabal, District Swat, KP, Pakistan. Average elevation of the area is about 2400 to 2550 feet above mean sea level. Population of the area is mostly dependant on farming, rearing livestock and associated products of forests and wild plants. The study area is located 20 km away from Mingora city between at 34°47’ North and 72°17’ East. Kabal is bounded on East by Tehsil Matta and North by Tehsil Babozai and West a Tehsil Barikot and on the South by Qalagy. The soil of Tehsil Kabal is loamy and moist and is irrigated by the Swat River which flows from Kalam through Kohistan and join the River of Kabul near Peshawar.

The area was visited and plant specimens were collected from February, 2012 to June, 2012. The plants were pressed, dried, mounted on herbarium sheets and identified with the help of flora of Pakistan and double checked for confirmation at department of Botany Government Post Graduate Collage Saidu Sharif Swat (KPK) [12]. Interviews were conducted form local inhabitants. Using questionnaire modified from Croom and Lipp [13,14]. Total 30 informants were interview for ethnobotanical knowledge. The ages of the informant ranged between 30-80 years, and were among the locals who had knowledge about the plants or were dependent on the local resources for their survival. The data was collected on various aspect of ethnobotanical usage, e.g. local name; parts used and use categories of individual species. Further conformation about the plant was collected from local drug dealers.

Total 45 medicinal plants were collected in this study belonging to 27 different families. Out of 45 plants 30 were herbs followed by 13 shrubs and only 2 were trees (Figure 1). Lamiaceae was largest family contributing 6 species followed by Asteraceae comprising 5 species and Poaceae 4 species. From the current ethnobotanical study of Tehsil Kabal it was obvious that leaves (44%) are the main part used for different diseases followed by stem (42.4%), fruits (17.77 %), seed (15.5 %), whole plant (13.3 %), roots (2.2%) and flower (2.2%) and shown in the Figure 2. All these plants are being used for the cure of different diseases by the locals of the area. Due its excessive use for ethnomedicinal purposes these plants are decreasing day by day. The detail of plants and their medicinal uses for different diseases are shown in Table 1.

Figure 1: No. of plant species on the basis of habit.

Figure 2: No. of plant species parts used for ethnomedicines.

Table 1: Ethnomedicinal uses of medicinal plants.

Tehsil Kabal, District Swat is blessed with natural resources and huge forest, but the people are not financially stable. The area is rich in medicinal plants and have highly diverse ecosystem. The Pinus species have the most importantin the forest. Ethnobotanically the area was undiscovered, so the study was designed to highlight the ethnobotanical significance of plants endemic to the area. A total of 45 plants were collected from the whole Tehsil Kabal area comprising of 27 families. Sher and Hussain [15] also conducted study on Malam Jabba hills of ethnobotanical importance, 90 species were collected. Out these 90 species 71 species used as medicinal plants, 20 species for fodder plant, 10 species for vegetables 14 species for wild fruit, 18 for species fuel wood, 9 species for furniture and agricultural tools,9 species for thatching, fencing and hedges, 4 species for honey bee, 2 species for evil eyes, 2 species for religious and another 3 spices as poison. Barkhatullah et al. [16] studied ethnobotany of Malakand Pass Hill, district, Malakand, Pakistan during 2010. A total of 169 species of 140 genera from 76 families were recorded. These consisted of 63 dicot families, five monocot families, four pteridophytes families and a single family of gymnosperm. Poaceae members dominated with 16 species, followed by Asteraceae with 12 species and Lamiaceae with 11 species. The area is under intense pressure of deforestation and overgrazing, which has reduced the renewal of woody plants. Hamayun [17] also conducted study on ethnobotanical knowledge of shrub and trees of District Buner. It was found that 94 different plant species are used for medicinal, timber, fuel wood and fodder, ornamental, agricultural tools, thatching, fencing, naming (folk lore) and fruit yielding purposes.

From my ethnobotanical study of Tehsil Kabal District Swat, it is concluded that the area is full of medicinal plants and anthropogenic pressure is the main threat to these medicinal plants and the likelihood of reintroducing these medicinal plant is not expected in the near future for plantation of these medicinal plants. Deforestation and grazing are also posing threats to the conservation of these local medicinal plants. Awareness program should be organized to aware is of paramount significance for the local people to know the proper collection, uses, and plantation. The area should be further explored for the search of new medicinal plants.