Taxonomic and ethnobotanical study of Ranunculaceae from Dir Upper, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

The selected family is a large angiospermic family having 2346 species and 43 genera in the world. And in the present study a total of 32 taxa were collected representing 14 genera. Thirty one species of the selected family were grown wild and only one specie (Consolida ambigua) is cultivated. While four genera Ranunculus, Adonis, Ceratocephala and Clematis of the selected family is widely distributed in the study area. Furthermore, all the species are a new records from the selected area and one specie Delphinium himalayai Munz is new record from Pakistan. The obtained taxa were identified with the help of the taxonomic key. Furthermore the study was extended to the ethnobotanical uses of species of the selected family. For this study targeted spots were visited in blooming season of plants. The data collected from local people through semi structured questionnaire i.e local name of the plant species, locality in the area, local uses, part used data and flowering season. Mostly the part used data are root, whole plant, leaves, flower, fruit and seed were in common use. The species use data were also noted in the filed like rheumatism, tonic, antispasmodic, anticancer, painkiller, diuretic, febrifuges, carminative, anthelmintic, anti-inflammatory, aphrodisiac, cardio tonic, stomachache, dyspepsia, jaundice, leprosy, cough, asthma, ulcers, vomiting etc. The area has a diverse habitats for the growth of various medicinal plants. The area was selected for the first time for such type of study. The study will be help full in future for researcher to work on the selected species to find out their active ingredients