Taxonomical Exploration of Arboreal Members of the Family Anacardiaceae in District Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir (India)
Rani Mughal *
Botany Department, Government Degree College Poonch, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Muzafer Ahmad Sheikh
Department of Botany, Government Degree College Surankote, Jammu and Kashmir, India.
Fayaz Qazi
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Government of Canada, Canada.
Jawerriya Qazi
Biosciences Department, Mount Royal University, Canada.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The Poonch district is part of the Pir-Panchal region of Jammu and Kashmir, which is home to a distinct landscape and a variety of climates. Even with these significant variations, this region has been able to maintain a high level of biodiversity. There are certain groups of flora that have eluded researchers' attention, including the Anacardiaceae family, which is one of those groups. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current occurrence as well as taxonomical studies of the arboreal members of the Anacardiaceae family. For several decades, the district has been observing the occurrence of these plant species both in sub-tropical and temperate zones with various ethnobotanical uses. This angiospermic arboreal flora group found at an altitude between 988 and 3004 m is composed of eight species in five genera, including one shrub and seven trees, one evergreen, and seven deciduous species, as well as two indigenous and six exotic species. Among the plant genera, Pistacia and Rhus recorded 2 and 3 species, respectively, while Cotinus, Lannea and Mangifera recorded one species each.
Keywords: Arboreal, biodiversity, taxonomy, anacardiaceae, district Poonch