Identification of Medicinal Plants in Arshadchamani Rangelands of East Azarbaijan

Arshadchamani rangelands are placed in the north foothill of SahandMountain and near Kandovan Village. Therefore, it has plant diversity andeconomical values. In this region, medicinal plants are cut and sold by the storeswith non-standard packaging without scientific name. Regarding the economicalvalue of medicinal plants and thereby the investment necessity on these valuableresources for using in chemical, pharmaceutical and food industries, the collectionand identification of these plants could be useful. Collection and identification ofplants in the region were carried out during two years. 256 collected species wereidentified in herbarium and then medicinal plants were separated by the scientificreferences. During this project, 95 species of medicinal plants belonging to 78 genusand 32 families were identified. The highest number of medicinal plants wererelated to Lamiaceae (17 species), Asteraceae (11 species), Brassicaceae (10species), Fabaceae (9 species) and Apiaceae (7 species). The life form of medicinalplant species was determined by Raunkier's method and they are including 57.89%Hemicryptophytes, 28.42% Therophytes, 7.36% Chamaephytes and 5.26%Geophytes. Six medicinal vegetation types were recognized in the are: Ziziphoraclinopoioides Lam. Thymus kotschyanus Boiss. And. Hohen.,Urtica dioica L., Alceaflavovirens (Boiss. and Buhse) Iljin, Stachys lavandulifolia Vahl, Cichorium intybusL., Achillea willhelmsii C. Koch, Stachys inflata Benth., Peganum harmala L., Rosadomescena L. were economically very important.