A survey of medicinal plants of Wadi Al-Kouf in Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar, Libya

Abstract

Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar (the Green Mountain) of Cyrenaica, Libya is known to have the highest plant species diversity in the country, particularly in the depressions and the valleys of the mountain. Wadi Al-Kouf is the largest valley in the mountain, with a rich flora of aromatic and medicinal plants. The present investigation was conducted to record and list the medicinal plant species growing in the valley during the flowering season of 2019. Results revealed that Wadi Al-Kouf hosts 107 medicinal plant species belonging to 49 families and 93 genera. Dicotyledons were the most represented group of angiospermae with 38 families, 79 genera and 89 species, whereas Monocotyledons were represented by only 8 families, 10 genera and 13 species. Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Fabaceae and Solanaceae were the families with the highest number of species; 11, 9, 6 and 6 species, respectively. The most dominant life forms found in the valley were Therophytes (25.2%), Phanerophytes (25.2%) and Chamaephytes (24.3%), followed by Hemicryptophytes (15.9%) and Geophytes (9.3%). Nine endemic species were detected and recorded.