Agricultural and Weed Plants as the main Ethnobotanical Sources in the Jahrom County, Fars Province, Iran,

Phytotherapy and the use of medicinal plants in Jahrom County have a long history. Many of the existing medicinal practices in this region are unique and can have special scientific value. In other words, based on the background of Iranian traditional medicine culture, which is clearly evident in this ancient region, as well as the ecological conditions of the region (for example, the fact that Jahrom is a special region in terms of agriculture and horticulture), the main medicinal and traditional uses of plants are related to fruit trees and weeds. The present study investigated the relationship between the dominant land use in this area, which is agriculture, and its traditional medicinal culture. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to collect ethnobotanical information using semi-structured questionnaires, field visits, and open interviews with 51 local informants. Plant species were deposited in the herbarium of the University of Jiroft and identified by botanists using standard taxonomic literature and methods. Statistical factors including use reports (UR) for each plant species, and informant consensus factor (ICF) were applied to analyze the ethnopharmacological dada. Independent samples T test was used to campier use report between two main physionomical forms of the plant’s species. On the whole, 64 medicinal plant species were identified that applied for the treatment of 15 ailments categories by the locals of the Jahrom County. These recorded plant species belong to 58 generals of 33 botanical families. Lamiaceae, Asteraceae, and Apiaceae scored the main utilized plant families, respectively. The highly utilized plant species with the highest use report were Phoenix dactylifera (UR: 323), Prunus scoparia (UR: 176), Cuscuta epithymum (UR: 148), and Tribulus terrestris (UR=122). Dermatological, neurological, and gastrointestinal disorders were scored the highest ICF. Also, in unexpected results we found that female diseases recorded high level of informant consensus factor in this district. The most utilized plant part was leaf, follow by seed and flower. The most common of drug preparation and applications were decoction, poultice, and infusion respectively. The results of independent sample t-test showed that herb’s use report was significantly more than trees and shrubs. Our findings indicate that Jahrom region has different traditional medicinal knowledge that is the result of cultural, ecological and therapeutic interactions over a long period of time, and if research steps are carried out, they have a good potential to obtain pharmaceutical products. In the other words, we found not recorded applications of the fruit trees and under story herbs which could be valuable for the production of herbal natural products. In the other words, we found not recorded ethnobotanical applications of the fruit trees and under story herbs which could define new economic values for these plant species.