Floristic survey and biological characteristics of medicinal plants in the southern part of Langarud city

Native and endemic plants are considered valuable genetic reserves of each region and are of special importance due to having favorable morphological traits, resistance to pests and diseases, and adaptability to ecological conditions. This research was carried out with the aim of providing a floristic list and identifying the biological and soil characteristics of medicinal plants in Langerud city. Soil samples were also taken from the surface horizon of habitats and their characteristics including soil texture, soil reaction, electrical conductivity and organic carbon percentage were measured. 78 species of medicinal plants belonging to 42 families and 72 plant genera were identified. Of these, Asteraceae is the largest family with 10 species. Also, Rosaceae, Fabaceae, Lamiaceae, Apiaceae and Poaceae families are the next large families with eight, five, five, four and three species, respectively. Aspleniaceae, Brassicaceae, Malvaceae, Hypericaceae, Lythraceae, Onagraceae and Urticaceae consist of two species.  Other identified families include one species. The highest percentage of life form and chorological type of the identified medicinal plant species in the region are Hemicryptophyte (He) and Polyregional (PL) elements, respectively. Also, assessment of the characteristics of the habitats of these plants in the height range of -15 to 325 m.a.s.l. showed the uniformity of the soil texture in the medium to light class, electrical conductivity less than 1 dS/m, soil reaction acidic and good organic matter content. The habitat of many of these species is in the hilly and mountainous areas, in addition to lowlands and plains and around paddy fields.