Ethno-Pharmacological Profile of Weed Flora of Dir-Upper District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Ethno-Pharmacological Profile of Weed Flora of Dir-Upper District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Murad Muhammad1,2,3*, Shahid Ullah1, Nimrah Ameen4, Abdul Wahab3,5, Abdul Basit6, Muqadas Batool7, Muhammad Nazim2,3 and Haroon Khan8
ABSTRACT
This study explores and documents the traditional medicinal uses of weed flora commonly found in field crops (rice, vegetables, wheat, and maize) in District Dir Upper, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Many medicinal plants grow wild or as weeds worldwide, including in Pakistan. The Dir Upper district boasts a diverse weed flora with significant medicinal value for daily use. Surveys using semi-structured open-ended questionnaires were carried out in distant villages of the Larjam subdivisions, specifically interviewing 120 local respondents (85 males, including herbalists and pansiris, and 35 women) regarding the naturally occurring medicinal weeds in the area. During the field survey, traditional knowledge and the ethnobotanical relevance of seasonal weeds were collected. A total of 65 species from 24 families were recorded across the four different seasons (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) in 2021–2023, including 54 angiosperms, 10 tracheophytes, and one pteridophyte. The dominant family was Poaceae (25%), followed by Asteraceae (15%) and Asclepiadaceae (2%). Given the essential roles that these weed species play in medicine, future research on the use and conservation of indigenous weed flora is highly recommended.
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