Ethnobotanical and Ethnoecological Survey on Medicinal Species (Case Study Kechik Rangelands in the Northeast Golestan Province)

Indigenous knowledge on medicinal plants is crucial. This extensive knowledge contains different issues such as ethnobotany of medicinal plants. Ethnobotany is human knowledge on botany and plant ecology. In this paper, an ethnobotanical survey has done in the five Turkmen villages around Kalale district which is located in Northeast of Golestan province. Data collection was done via interviewing, using questionnaires/sheets (totally two hundred and thirty four sheets) at the tree trips/stages to record various data such as collecting time, ecological distribution, local name, medicinal uses and parts of plants used by people. In this study, local people have identified 45 medicinal, edible species which are belonging to 21 families. The results showed that Indigenous knowledge presents invaluable data on the ecological characteristics of plants (ethnoecology), so that can be used to explain distribution of many plant species without applying any expensive and time consuming ecological methods. Meanwhile they have a rich knowledge about medicinal usage of plants.