Introductory study of the medicinal plant species of Kazeroon, Fars province

Abstract

Background & Aim: Kazeroon, with an area of about 4060 km², is situated at 110 km in the west of Shiraz, Fars province, Iran. This area is important for plant biodiversity, due to the presence of some important habitats such as international Lake of Parishan in the southeast, woodlands of <em>Quercus persica </em>in the east and branches of Shahpoor river in the west of the region. Therefore, for the old antiquity on this city and high biodiversity on plant species; in this work, the medicinal vascular plants were collected, identified and studied for medicinal usages. Martial & Methods: For this purpose, many specimens were collected during the vegetative seasons in 2007 to 2010. All the specimens were prepared as standard herbarium sheets, identified by using available references and stored in the herbaria of Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands (TARI) and Payam Noor University. Life forms and chorological status of the species were analyzed. Results & Discussion: As a result, 90 species belonging to 87 genera and 39 families of angiosperms were reported from the rangelands around the Kazeroon. Lamiaceae, with 11 species, and Asteraceae with 9 species were the largest families respectively, and <em>Plantago</em> (Plantaginaceae) with 3 species was the largest genus in the medicinal flora of this area. Conclusion: The presence of more than 90 medicinal plant species indicates high biodiversity in the studied region. Furthermore, the findings of this investigation are completely in conformance to the conditions of the area that has a semi-arid climate with dry summers and low rainfall.