Ethnobotany of Darwishchai-Sarein Watershed Plants with Medicinal and Food Approaches

Ethnobotany is a science that studies the relation between a particular ethnic or culture groups in a particular area with the native plants. This research studies the ethnobotany and indigenous knowledge on medicinal and food plants of Darwishchai Sarein local poeple. The ethnobotanical knowledge of residents of 5 villages namely Verniab, AliDashi, Vargeh Saran, Ujour and Alvares was investigated. Required information on the use of medicinal and food plants was collected using open-ended questionnaires. knowledgeable persons in a discourse-based manner were selected for filling the forms. Results showed the 57 medicinal and food species in the study area are used by local communities. These plants belonged to 21 plant families. The most species belonged to Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Rosaceae, Fabaceae and Apiaceae, respectively with 12, 9, 7, 5 and 3 species. The results also showed that from the 57 species, 27 are categorized as medicinal  and 30 are put in both medicinal and food caregories. The most and least used organs were leaf (41%) and flag (1%), respectively. Residents in the watershed are using the herbs as brewed for 68.42 percent of the plants used. Usage of food plants is mostly in soups, 19.3%. According to the results, most medicinal plants are used to prevent the colds and coughs (35%). Resuts of the research could be used for medicinal and food plants management in the region. In addition it shows that the knowledge of elderlies ahould be respected and used.