Ethnobotany Study of Medicinal Plants Used in the Treatment of Respiratory Diseases in the Middle Region of Oum Rbai

The ethnobotanical study carried out in the region of Oum Rbia (Morocco) made it possible to identify the medicinal plants used by the local population and to collect the maximum information on this use. A survey of 1360 people from the region's population noted that 170 people use medicinal plants against respiratory diseases. Women accounted for 55.3% of the workforce versus 44.7% for men; Married people 70% against 28% for singles. The illiteracy rate is high (34.1%). The leaves are the most widely used part of the plant. Infusion and decoction are the most commonly used methods for preparing traditional remedies. The most widely used species in the treatment of respiratory diseases are: Origanun glandulosum, Eucalyptus globulus, Nigella sativa, Mentha pulegium, Lavandula stoechas, Zingiber officinale, Ammodaucus leucotrichus, Ficus carica. In addition, some species have toxicity either because of the ignorance of the necessary dose or because the people treated are affected by other diseases. Thus, the survey made it possible to inventory 66 medicinal species which are divided into 36 plant families; Lamiaceae (21.2%), Myrtaceae (10.6%), Apiaceae (8.8%), Amaryllydaceae (7.7%) and Zingiberaceae (7.1%). These results resulted in a catalog of medicinal plants used in the study area to treat respiratory diseases. It is a local know-how that must be considered as a heritage to be preserved and developed

Cotula australis Hook.f. (Asteraceae), a species newly introduced in Morocco

We report the discovery of Cotula australis Hook.f. for the first time in Morocco and North Africa. We found it living in the cork-oak forest of Maamora (Northwest). This species, a member of the family Asteraceae, is introduced to Morocco and has potential to be highly invasive and destructive to the native environment. We describe the distinctive taxonomic and morphological characters of this species and provide notes on its distribution, ecology, and habitat

A Floristical and Ecological Study of the Medicinal Flora Used by the Local Population of the Haouz-Rehamna Region (Middle Atlantic Morocco-4)

To carry out a floristical inventory of plants used in traditional medicine in the HaouzRehamna region, a series of ethnobotanical surveys were conducted during five campaigns (2012–2017) with a representative sample of 1,700 people. These researches are completed by the determination of species collected in the field. It is worth mentioning that, taking into account the recent changes at the international level on taxonomy, the results obtained allowed us to elaborate a catalogue of 415 plant species (bryophytes (2 species); lichens (1), superior mushrooms (1), pteridophytes (4), gymnosperms (8), chlamydosperms (2) and angiosperms (397)) belonging to 291 genera and 99 botanical families, of which nine are the most representative and total 53.49%, namely: Asteraceae (11.33%), Lamiaceae (10.12%), Fabaceae (8.43%), Apiaceae (6.50%), Solanaceae (4.34%), Poaceae (3.86%), Rosaceae (3.37%), Brassicaceae (3.13%) and Cucurbitaceae (2.41%). On the contrary, the other 90 families represent a specific number less than or equal to 1.93%. The data also reflect a high degree of monotypic, where a single species represented 47.48% of the recorded families, and 79.03% of the genera were monotypic. The spontaneous plants occupy the first place with 241 species (58.07%). In addition, the classification by genus showed that the genus Mentha is the most used by its number of species (8 species). Moreover, we noted the use of 12 hybrid species. The chorological analysis revealed the domination of taxa with Mediterranean distribution for spontaneous species. Therophytes (27%) and phanerophytes (23.36%) are the most represented life forms. The results of this study could serve as a basis for future research in the field of floristics and ecology for the conservation of biodiversity

Phyllanthus tenellus Roxb. (Phyllanthaceae), a newly naturalising species in Morocco

We report the herbaceous plant Phyllanthus tenellus Roxb., a species native to tropical regions, from Morocco. This is the first time that the genus and species are reported from Morocco and continental North Africa. We found this species to be naturalising in several localities in north-western Morocco. A morphological description, the geographic distribution, and notes on the ecology of this species are provided. We present for the first time photographs of P. tenellus from continental North Africa