Ethnomedicinal flora of Frontier Region Tank,Fata, Pakistan

Main objective of the study was to record the ethnobotanical uses of indigenous plants of the federally administered tribal area (FATA), Bhittani (Local Tribe). Total interviewed local informants of different ages through questionnaire were 212 (196 male and 16 female). Well-known statistical indices, Use Value (UVi) formula and Fidelity Level (FL%) were used for quantification of the recorded data. After identification, the collected specimens were deposited in the Herbarium of Botany Department, Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Present findings reveal that 38 plants species belonging to 26 families were being used in the treatment of 31 different diseases. Regarding plant habit, herbs were the leading growth form (63%), followed by trees (24%) and shrubs (13%) respectively. Solanaceae (13.16%) was leading family used in curing various diseases, followed by Asteraceae and Moraceae (7.89% each). Most cited families by the informants were Solanaceae (5 species, 137 citations), Asteraceae (3 species, 81 citations), Moraceae (3 species, 69 citations) and Amaryllidaceae (2 species, 57 citations). Most of taxa were used in curing constipation and stomach problem (9.88% each), followed by pain and cough (7.41% each), digestive and fever (4.96% each). Most frequently used plant part for curing different diseases was leaves (33.33%), followed by fruits (21.67%) and roots (13.33%). Medicinal plants with most use values and high ranks were Withania coagulans (0.88) ranked 1^st and Cichorium intybus 2^nd (0.81) while Cichorium intybus also showed 100% FL value. Plants of study area provide most of the basic requirements for the survival of local communities. There is huge pressure exerted on the natural vegetation due to their overuse by the inhabitants of the area. If proper remedial measures are not taken soon, this process may lead to decline of the valuable plant species from the study area.