Ethnobotanical Investigation of the Plants of Komijan County, Iran

Abstract

Ethnobotany is a branch of interdisciplinary science that is result of botany and folklore intersection. In this research, our aim is to investigate ethnobotanical studies in Komijan County, located in the west of Markazi province, Iran. Given that no ethnobotanical study has been done here, the main reason caused this topic to be done in the present research is preventing the native knowledge from forgetting. During 2023-2024, the information around 140 plants was collected through oral sources (elderly men and women at the age of 50-90) as well as some scientific and specialized books. The local name, scientific name, genus and family name are mentioned in the article, also the medicinal properties, method of application and plant organ used in the region were recorded. Eventually, three growth form; tree, shrub and herb were reported. According to the results, among the collected data, the highest percentage was allocated to herbaceous plants (66.1%) and the lowest percentage to shrub species (16.5%). On the other hand, the grouping based on the type of application showed that most species were edible (54.5%) and 32.2% of them were in the other applications group. It is worth noting that a significant percentage of plant species (47.1%) possess a wide range of therapeutic properties. Investigating the names of plants showed that the plants naming in the region is following principles such as animal names, animal body parts, plant color, habitat, smell, local beliefs, etc. Due to the significant plant diversity in Komijan County, high side effects caused by chemical drugs and the need to preserve biodiversity, and considering job creation, developing ethnobotanical studies in the region is deeply felt.