Ethnobotanical study in the highland of Alvand and Tuyserkan, Iran

Background and objectives: Medicinal plants are widely used by people in the treatment of various diseases. These resources are usually regarded as part of cultural traditional knowledge. The aim of this study was to identify the information about the medicinal plants used by indigenous people of some regions of Hamedan province, Iran. Methods: The present ethnobotanical study was conducted in the Alvand mountainous area of Hamedan and Tuyserkan. Interviews were done in 27 villages and totally 53 informants were interviewed. Ethnobotanical indices like relative frequency of citation (RFC) and cultural importance index (CI) were calculated. Results: Our study reports 80 traditionally used plant species, belonging to 31 plant families. Asteraceae with 12 species was the most used family in this area. The most used parts were aerial parts (18.57%), leaves (21.42%), and flowers (17.14%), respectively. The most treated ailments were digestive problems. The highest number of ethnobotanical indices RFC and CI were observed in Stachys lavandulifolia   Vahl. and Thymus lancifolius  Celak., respectively. Conclusions: Hamedan provincepossesses considerable knowledge about medicinal plants for treating common health problems.