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Pak. J. Bot., 47(2): 495-510, 2015. |
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Updated: 24-04-15 | ||||
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DIVERSITY AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF FLORA OF MASTUJ VALLEY, DISTRICT CHITRAL, HINDUKUSH RANGE, PAKISTAN
FARRUKH HUSSAIN1, S. MUKARAM SHAH1, LAL BADSHAH1 AND MUFAKHIRA JAN DURRANI2
Abstract: This study revealed that the floristic diversity
consisted of 571 species belonging to 82 families including 65 dicots,
13 monocots, 2 gymnosperms and 2 pteridophyte families.
There were 334 genera including 3 Pteridophytes, 2 gymnosperms, 54 monocot and 275 dicot genera. Asteraceae (91 Spp.,
15.95 %), Poaceae (58 Spp., 10.16 %), Papilionaceae (38 Spp., 6.65 %), Lamiaceae & Rosaceae (each with 26 Spp., 4.55 %),
Polygonaceae (25 spp; 4.38), Caryophyllaceae (23 spp.; 4.03%), Apiaceae (21 Spp., 3.68 %), Boraginaceae and
Brassicaceae (20 Spp., each with 3.50 %) were the leading families.
There were 45 (13.47%), 32 (9.58%), 19 (5.69%), 18 (5.39%) and
16 (4.79%) genera respectively in Asteraceae, Poaceae, Brassicaceae, Apiaceae and Papilionaceae. Flora
consisted of 91.59% wild species, 92.64% deciduous species, 92.12%
nonspiny species, 80.04% mesophytes and 94.57% heliophytes.
Biological spectrum was dominated by therophytes (234 spp., 40.98%), followed by hemicryptophytes (154 spp.,
26.97%), geophytes (82 spp., 14.36%), chamaephytes (44 spp., 7.71%), nanophanerophytes (31 spp, 5.43%) and megaphanerophytes
(24 spp., 4.20%). The leaf size spectra was dominated by nanophylls (40.98%), leptophylls (24.87%), mesophylls
18.56%) and microphylls (9.11%). Further plant exploration is suggested in this remote inaccessible valley in the
Hindukush Range, Pakistan 1Department of Botany, University of Peshawar, Pakistan 2Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, Pakistan Corresponding author’s e-mail: farrukhbotanyy@gmail.com |
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