Abstracts
The flora and ethnobotanical features of Aun El-Jawaa in Saudi Arabia have been recently studied. 88 species representing 30 families of vascular plants were recorded. More than 56% of species observed were Annual herbs. The major plant families that contributed in the formation of vegetation of the area in question were Asteraceae (17 species) followed by Amaranthaceae (12 species), Brassicaceae (10 species), Fabaceae and Boraginaceae (7&6 respectively), Plantaginaceae and Zygophyllaceae with three species,whereas, 8 families are represented by two species, while fifteen families each was represented by only one species. Therophytes exhibited the maximum number of species (54.54%), followed by Chaemophytes (26.13%), Phanerophytes (7.95%), Hemicryptophytes (4.54%), Cryptophytes (3.4%) and Geophytes (2.27%) while the least frequent life form class was parasitic. Chorological analysis revealed that Saharo-Arabian constitute the main bulk of the total flora of the studied area. In addition an ethnobotanical survey was conducted in different localities of Aun El-Jawaa, parts used and the medicinal uses of the recorded flora were also described.
Keywords : Flora; medicinal plants; ethnobotany; biological spectrum; Saudi Arabia.
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