Floristic status of the Himalayan foothills in Haryana – vegetation composition, diversity and population structure

Plant species diversity is hypothesized to be among the most relevant factors for enhancing soil stability in disturbed sites at high elevation. Because a more diverse plant community may comprise a high number of plant species of different growth forms, plant functional groups, and root characteristics, the chance of including a species that fulfills a specific key function may increase, thereby ensuring ecosystem integrity. Although plausible, the contribution of plant diversity to soil stabilisation in general, and to erosion control on alpine ski slopes in particular, has scarcely been demonstrated. This thesis investigated the relationship between plant diversity and soil stability in disturbed alpine ecosystems. The main objectives were (i) to determine root traits of 13 alpine pioneer species growing on a machine-graded ski slope without the in uence of neighbors, in order to address mechanisms of belowground diversity effects (Chapter 2), (ii) to quantify the contribution of plant diversity to soil stability by testing the aggregate stability of the soil from machine-graded ski slopes and from adjacent undisturbed vegetation (Chapter 3), (iii) to compare aggregate stability data from both graded and un-graded ski slopes and the associated control sites (Chapter 4), and (iv) to investigate the relationship between interrill erosion, vegetation cover, and plant functional diversity by applying rainfall simulations (Chapter 5). Both field and laboratory experiments were conducted. Chapter 2. Belowground diversity in root characteristics of alpine plants: key traits for soil restoration. Alpine plant species were highly diverse in functional root traits. Three of the 13 studied species were significantly different in root length and spreading, plant age and tensile strength. The results show that belowground diversity can be enhanced substantially by employing a few plant species with specific root traits. This study suggests that restoration attempts should aim at selecting species with a high belowground diversity to achieve a high diversity in functional root types which can positively affect slope stability. Chapter 3. Higher plant diversity enhances soil stability in disturbed alpine ecosystems. Plant diversity, vegetation cover and root density positively influenced aggregate stability, which was significantly lower on ski slopes compared to control sites. Out of all the tested variables, plant diversity explained considerably more variance than abiotic soil parameters. Plant species associated with more diverse communities were from various functional groups, i.e. grasses, forbs and shrubs. A higher density of fine roots and, to a lesser extent, coarse roots positively influenced aggregate stability. This study showed that, in addition to re-establishment of a functional vegetation cover with a dense root system, a high number of plant species with different growth forms is important. Chapter 4. Soil aggregate stability on alpine ski slopes. Aggregate stability was lower on graded ski slopes, but not on ungraded ski slopes compared with control plots . Root length density, number of plant species and vegetation cover were all positively correlated with aggregate stability. However, more than 13 plant species, 80% vegetation cover and 0.011 g cm-3 root density did not cause a further increase in aggregate stability. In multiple regression analysis, we determined that the effect of the number of plant species on aggregate stability was more pronounced on graded and gravelly ski slopes than on un-graded and sandy slopes. This study provided evidence that high plant diversity plays an important role in soil aggregate stability at disturbed alpine sites. Chapter 5. Interrill erosion at disturbed alpine sites: effects of plant functional diversity & vegetation cover. Interrill erosion was reduced the most when vegetation cover was high: 60% vegetation cover reduced the sediment yield by 83% compared to unvegetated ground. At 60% vegetation cover, sediment yield was significantly reduced in the presence of three functional groups compared to one plant functional group. Furthermore, combinations of plant functional groups including grasses reduced the sediment yield more than combinations without grasses. This study supports the view that, besides the re-establishment of a closed vegetation cover, high plant functional diversity is relevant for reducing interrill erosion at disturbed alpine sites. In conclusion, the resistance of topsoil to water-induced erosion at disturbed alpine sites depends not only on the degree of vegetation cover, but also on the presence of a high number of plant species that are highly diverse in functional traits above and below ground.

Sphagnum cultivation is a type of paludiculture and a way to use formerly drained peatlands productively but under wet and therefore climate-friendly conditions. Where Sphagnum mosses are cultivated other plant species will also establish and possibly compete with the Sphagnum. The aim of this study was to determine which factors influence vascular plant cover as well as plant species numbers at Sphagnum cultivation sites and to derive recommendations for their management. Two cultivation sites were studied in northwest Germany. One of these was established directly after peat extraction while the other was rewetted seven years prior to establishment. Irrigation ditches for water management were installed at both sites. The cover of vascular plants and the number of plant species present were determined in systematically positioned plots. Six variables were tested for their influence on the assessed data by applying boosted regression tree models. The main factors influencing vascular plant cover at the two Sphagnum cultivation sites were the distance to an irrigation ditch (m), the site (location) and Sphagnum cover (%). The number of species per plot was influenced mainly by Sphagnum cover (%), the distance to an irrigation ditch (m) and the donor species used for initiating the cultivation sites. A sufficient supply of nutrient-poor water and optimal Sphagnum growth can reduce vascular plant cover and the number of plant species potentially present at a site. Insufficient water distribution and uneven Sphagnum establishment lead to inhomogeneous site conditions and thus to a higher number of plant species. The number and cover of plant species at a cultivation site are influenced by the vegetation of the sites’ surroundings and the selection of the donor site.

Aims: The forest of West Timor has been cleared for different purposes for decades, leaving only small patches of remnant forest vegetation. Understanding tree-shrub composition and structure of this remnant forest vegetation is a vital instrument in assessing the sustainability of forest, species conservation, and management of forest ecosystems. This research was therefore conducted to investigate the current structure and composition pattern of tree-shrub species in such remnant forest vegetation.
 Study Design: This research project was designed using a vegetation survey employing the Point Centered Quarter Method.
 Place and Duration of Study: The research project was conducted in five sample stands of remnant forest vegetation, namely Oliana, Tablolong, Fatukoa, Oenesu, and Alak, the District of Kupang, West Timor, Indonesia, between April to July 2020.
 Methodology: In each sample stand, the tree-shrub vegetation was surveyed using Point Centered Quarter Method by placing three 100-m-long transects. The first transect was placed at random and the second and third transects were placed parallel to the first, with a distance of 100 m between two transects. Sample points were then determined in an interval of 10 m along each transect to construct four quarters. In each quarter, the nearest tree or shrub (≥ 1 m height) to the sample point was identified and the distance measured. For each tree or shrub species, number of individual, dominance, frequency, Importance Value Index (IVI), stem diameter at 0.5 m height, and average value of plant height for each species were determined. Index Similarity (IS) between stands were also calculated using Sørensen Coefficient.
 Results: Of the 600 invidual tree and shrub measured in a total of about 1,500-m-long line transect, about 28 tree-shrub species of 16 families were identified. The number of plant/hectare was 833 and the mean number of species/stand was 9.60 (sd = 1.94). Generally, the number of species and families found in the remnant vegetation community was relatively low compared to that of commonly found in rain forests. The IS between stand was 28.21 (sd = 14.40)%. The highest IS were between stand 1-2 (IS 55.56%) and between stand 1-4 (IS 47.62%). The lowest IS were between stand 3-4 and 3-5 (IS 10.53%). Based on the number of species, the five stands of remnant vegetation was dominated by families of Fabaceae, Arecaceae, and Anacardiaceae, but based on the IVI, they were dominated by families of Lamiaceae, Fabaceae, and Sapindaceae. On the basis of plant height, about 6.15% of the total individual was within the category of small plant (≤2 m) and 3.32% was of big tree (>14 m). However, on the basis of stem diameter, about 27.86% of the total individual was on the category of small plant (≤10 cm) and about 2.99% was of big tree (>130 cm). Most existing species were within the category of small and very small IVI, only about 14.26% of the existing species were within the category of very high IVI (>20%) and 71.43 were within the category of low and very low IVI (<10%). Four most prominent species, namely Tectona grandis Linn., Schleichera oleosa (Lour.), Vachellia nilotica (L.) P.J.H.Hurter & Mabb., and Spondias pinnata (L.f.) Kurz contributed to more than 50% IVI in the five stands of remnant vegetation. Among all species found, Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit, Caesalpinia pulcherrima (L.) Sw., Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Poiret, Syzygium cumini (L.), Pterocarpus indicus Willd., Pinus mercusii Jungh. & de Vriese, and Acacia auriculiformis A.Cunn. ex Benth. were present in very small IVI. In general, the contribution of invasive species in the stands of remnant vegetation was relatively high (total IVI 56.96%), about a quarter of which were invasive weedy shrub species.
 Conclusion: Based on this result it can be concluded that the five stands of remnant forest were in the state of poor health as indicated by the low number of species and families, the low species diversity, the heterogeneous floristic composition as most of species present were in the category of low occurrence, and the dominance of invasive non-native tree and shrub species. Therefore, the forest needs immediate intervention by taking conservation and restoration action to prevent further destruction.

One of the main goals of ecological studies is to disentangle the dynamics that underlie the spatiotemporal distribution of biodiversity and further functions of the ecosystem. However, due to many ecological and geopolitical reasons, many remote areas with high plant species diversity have not been assessed using newly based analytical approaches for vegetation characterization. Here, we classified and characterized different vegetation types (i.e., major plant communities) based on indicator species and on the influence of different environmental gradients in the Himalayan mixed coniferous forest, Pakistan. For that, we addressed the following questions: Does the vegetation composition of the Himalayan mixed coniferous forest correlate with climatic, topographic, geographic, and edaphic variables? Is it possible to identify plant communities through indicator species in relation to environmental gradients using multivariate approaches? Can this multivariate be helpful for conservation planning? During four consecutive years we assessed the vegetation composition and environmental variables (21 variables divided in geographic, climatic, topographic, and edaphic groups) of 156 50 m-trasects between an elevation of 2000–4000 m. Using newly based analytical approaches for community characterization, we found a total of 218 plant species clustered into four plant communities with the influence of environmental gradients. The highest index of similarity was recorded between Pinus-Cedrus-Viburnum (PCV) and Viburnum-Pinus-Abies (VPA) communities, and the highest index of dissimilarity was recorded between PCV and Abies-Juniperus-Picea (AJP) communities. Among these four communities, highest number of plant species (156 species) was recorded in PCV, maximum alpha diversity (H’ = 3.68) was reported in VPA, highest Simpson index (0.961) and Pielou’s evenness (0.862) were reported in VPA and AJP. The edaphic gradients (i.e., organic matter, phosphorous, pH and soil texture) and climatic factors (temperature, humidity) were the strongest environmental gradients that were responsible for structuring and hosting the diverse plant communities in mixed coniferous forest. Finally, the Himalayan mixed coniferous structure is more influenced by the spatial turnover beta-diversity process (βsim) than by the species loss (nestedness-resultant, βsne). Our analysis of the vegetation structure along the environmental gradient in the Himalayan mixed coniferous forest supported by sophisticated analytical approaches reveled indicator species groups, which are associated to specific microclimatic zones (i.e., vegetation communities). Within this focus, we side with the view that these results can support conservation planning and management for similar and different areas providing mitigating and preventive measures to reduce potential negative impacts, such as anthropic and climatic.

An ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants used by communities of Northern Kordofan region, Sudan

Forested seep wetlands dominated by skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) occur frequently in the Canoe Creek watershed of the Upper Iowa River, but this type of wetland has not been described systematically in the upper Midwest. The goal of this study is to document the herbaceous plant flora of five seeps. Although individual seeps are small (200-500 m2), they provide habitat for a high number of plant species. Five seeps with total area less than 0.2 ha supported more than 120 native vascular herbaceous taxa, 20 of which have a coefficient of conservatism (C-value) of 7 or higher and 23 that are obligate wetland species. Several species that were common in these habitats 100 years ago appear to have been locally extirpated or have become uncommon in the region, including Gentianopsis crinita, Cirsium muticum, Eupatorium altissimum, Chelone glabra, and Micranthes pensylvanica. Today, these plant communities are threatened by invasive plant species, high levels of deer herbivory, and destruction by human activities. We hope that by documenting their current species composition we can inspire protection of these wetlands and provide a baseline for monitoring future changes.

Traditional food is a food and drink that is usually consumed by certain people, with a distinctive taste that is accepted by the community. This study aims to record, reveal, document community knowledge about plant species and how to use them as food packaging material by the people of Central Bangka Regency and to find out the conservation status or level of threat of species. The research method was conducted by interviewing the criteria of key informants, field observations, anatomical observations and cluster analysis with pastpogram software and in determining the location using purposive sampling. The results of the study obtained 10 types of plants whose leaves are used as food and food wrappers consisting of 7 families. The most widely used families are Arecaceae, Pandanaceae and Poaceae. The highest number of plant species based on habitat is 9(43%). The highest number of plant species based on habitus is herbs 5(50%). Based on the results of the cluster analysis, most people use banana leaves (Musa sp.) as food and food packaging.

For the first time, a list of vascular plant species from the right bank of the middle reaches of the Silovayakha River has been published and analyzed, including the author’s collections and information from published works. It contains 212 species from 112 genera and 43 families. The spectrum of leading families is typical for the floras of the Kanino-Pechora and Ural-Novaya Zemlya regions and includes 136 species (64%). The studied flora belongs to the hypoarctic and occupies an intermediate position between the plain and mountain floras, since it is located in the polar Cis-Urals. The greatest number of species were found in forb-cereal floodplain meadows, dwarf shrub-lichen-moss tundra and in nival meadows. Of the latitudinal fractions, arctic and boreal species predominate. Most of the taxa of the Arctic distribution are recorded in communities located in the upper parts of the relief: dwarf shrub shrub-lichen-moss and spotted tundra with Rhodiola quadrifida and in dwarf shrub-forb-moss nival meadows and groups of rocky outcrops on convex and sloping surfaces. This is due to the more severe microclimatic conditions of these ecotopes. Boreal species live mainly in willow thickets, forb-grass floodplain meadows, groups of aquatic plants with more favorable conditions for existence. The ratio of longitudinal ranges reflects the geographical position of the territory at the junction of Europe and Asia. The distribution of vascular plant species corresponds to their ecological preferences: at higher points of the relief and with drier soils, the greatest number of mesophytes and meso-xerophilous species is noted, in depressions — moisture-loving species, on flat plateaus — mesophytes and hygro-mesophytes. The composition of the underlying rocks determines the specifics of the flora, in which 26 species (12%) of calciphiles were identified. Life forms of plants are represented by: shrubs (6); dwarf shrubs (12); dwarf semi-shrubs (4); polycarpic (168), mono- and oligocarpic (13) and aquatic (9) herbs. Rare species protected in the territory of the Republic of Komi and adjacent regions were discovered: the Nenets Autonomous Okrug and the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. 21 plant species are listed in the Red Data Book of the Republic of Komi (Krasnaia…, 2019) and 15 are recommended for biological surveillance. 15 taxa are protected and included in the Red Data Book of the NAO (Krasnaia…, 2020) and 14 are on the list of biological surveillance. 7 species are rare and listed in the Red Data Book of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (Krasnaia…, 2023), and 9 species are subject to biological surveillance. Among them, relics (Carex fuscidula, C. sabynensis, Gentianopsis detonsa, Rhodiola quadrifida) and endemics (Pedicularis hyperborea, Potentilla kuznetzoxwii) of the Urals were identified. The studied territory has great potential as a place for preserving the biodiversity of the lowland tundra of the polar Cis-Urals, including the conservation and study of the state of populations of rare plant species, the greatest number of which grow on rocky outcrops along the banks of the Silovayakha River.

The present study aims to evaluate the present status of plant species diversity in the road dividers of Dhaka city. A total of 90 plant species under 73 genera and 42 families have been recorded from the road dividers of Dhaka city. Analysis showed that among the 90 species, the most abundant plant species in the road divider are Mimusops elengi (Bakul) Polyalthia longifolia (Debdaru), Leucaena leucocephala (Epil-epil), Tabernaemontana divaricata (Togor) and Swietenia mahagoni (Mahagoni). In case of dominant analysis based important value index showed that Mimusops elengi is the top dominant plant species followed by Polyalthia longifolia, Leucaena leucocephala, Tabernaemontana divaricata and Swietenia mahagoni respectively. These plant species have also showed the higher relative density, relative frequency and relative abundance. The percentage of native and exotic species was found here 44% and 56%, respectively. Most abundant and dominant plant species in the road dividers are exotics including Mimusops elengi,Polyalthia longifolia, Leucaena leucocephala and Swietenia mahagoni. Species diversity value was found higher in Hatirjeel site whereas lowest in Baridhara- Badda site. A number of recommendations are made based on the present results for the management of plant species diversity in the road dividers of Dhaka city. Some recommended native plant species for plantation according to the width and soil depth in the road dividers are Cassia fistula, Holarrhena pubescens, Firmiana colorata, Shorea robusta, Miliusa valutina, Butea monosperma, Alstonia scholaris, Toona ciliata, Ficus racemosa, Bombax ceiba, Woodfordia fruticosa, Melastoma malabathricum, Sterculia villosa, Grewia microcos, Syzygium cumini, Tabernaemontana divaricata, Ixora coccinea, Terminalia bellirica, Terminalia arjuna and also native seasonal flowers.
 Bangladesh J. Plant Taxon. 28(1): 141-154, 2021 (June)

Invasive plants are a major cause of the global biodiversity crisis; it is therefore crucial to understand mechanisms that contribute to their success. South‐western Australia is a global biodiversity hotspot with extremely low soil phosphorus (P) concentrations. In this region, a large proportion of native plant species release carboxylates that mobilise soil P. Many widespread invasive plant species in south‐western Australia are arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM). We hypothesised that some of these invasive AM plant species exhibit similar P‐acquisition strategies as native carboxylate‐releasing P‐mobilising species which allows them to thrive in P‐impoverished soils. To test this hypothesis, we collected 23 common invasive species in the field and assessed their leaf manganese concentration [Mn], relative to that of native reference species at different locations, as a proxy for carboxylate release. In addition, we cultivated seven of the invasive species in hydroponics at different P supply to measure their root carboxylate exudation. Furthermore, we measured leaf P concentration and photosynthetic P‐use efficiency (PPUE) of five invasive species in the glasshouse. In the field investigation, almost all invasive species exhibited significantly higher leaf [Mn] than the negative references, which do not release carboxylates, indicating carboxylate release of the invasive plants. Leaf [Mn] of a few invasives even exceeded that of positive references, which exhibit significant carboxylate release, indicating substantial carboxylate release of these invasives. All glasshouse‐grown invasive species with high field leaf [Mn] released root carboxylates under low P supply. Most of the tested invasive plant species also exhibited greater PPUE than native plants under low P supply. Invasive AM plant species exhibited root exudation of carboxylates as a P‐acquisition strategy, which very likely allows their successful invasion of severely P‐impoverished habitats. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

QuestionsWhat is the role of nutrient limitation of dominant species in maintaining plant species diversity at small spatial scales, particularly in biodiversity hotspots?LocationSouthwest of Western Australia.MethodsThe extent of nutrient limitation was determined by measuring variation in the foliar nutrients of dominant plant species and total above‐ground biomass in relation to soil N and P across 16 plots. Plant species richness and evenness for the same plots were then regressed against foliar N:P and δ15N of the dominant species.ResultsFoliar N and P content as well as above‐ground biomass increased, while foliar N:P decreased with increasing soil N and P, suggesting that dominant species are limited by both N and P in southwest Australia. In contrast, foliar δ15N values only increased with decreasing soil P, indicating that δ15N enrichment reflects low P availability. Species richness increased at sites where foliar N:P was higher and δ15N more enriched, suggesting that a relatively greater number of rare plant species co‐exist where the growth of dominant vegetation is more nutrient‐limited.ConclusionsThe mechanisms that allow an exceptionally high number of plant species to co‐exist at small spatial scales in a southwest Australian biodiversity hotspot are linked to the extent to which the dominant plant species are limited in N and P. In addition, on nutrient‐impoverished soils, a foliar N:P ratio >16 can reflect N as well as P limitation. While foliar δ15N also reflects availability of soil P, it is not necessarily a reliable indicator of nutrient limitation in southwest Australia, and perhaps in other environments where plants are highly adapted to low‐nutrient conditions.

Endozoochory by the guild of ungulates in Europe’s primeval forest

Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit is native to southern Mexico and Central America and is now naturalized in more than 130 countries. The spread of L. leucocephala is probably due to its multipurpose use such as fodder, timber, paper pulp, shade trees, and soil amendment. However, the species is listed in the world’s 100 worst invasive alien species, and an aggressive colonizer. It forms dense monospecific stands and threatens native plant communities, especially in oceanic islands. Phytotoxic chemical interactions such as allelopathy have been reported to play an important role in the invasion of several invasive plant species. Possible evidence for allelopathy of L. leucocephala has also been accumulated in the literature over 30 years. The extracts, leachates, root exudates, litter, decomposing residues, and rhizosphere soil of L. leucocephala increased the mortality and suppressed the germination and growth of several plant species, including weeds and woody plants. Those observations suggest that L. leucocephala is allelopathic and contains certain allelochemicals. Those allelochemicals may release into the rhizosphere soil during decomposition process of the plant residues and root exudation. Several putative allelochemicals such as phenolic acids, flavonoids, and mimosine were identified in L. leucocephala. The species produces a large amount of mimosine and accumulates it in almost all parts of the plants, including leaves, stems, seeds, flowers, roots, and root nodules. The concentrations of mimosine in these parts were 0.11 to 6.4% of their dry weight. Mimosine showed growth inhibitory activity against several plant species, including some woody plants and invasive plants. Mimosine blocked cell division of protoplasts from Petunia hybrida hort. ex E. Vilm. between G1 and S phases, and disturbed the enzyme activity such as peroxidase, catalase, and IAA oxidase. Some of those identified compounds in L. leucocephala may be involved in its allelopathy. Therefore, the allelopathic property of L. leucocephala may support its invasive potential and formation of dense monospecific stands. However, the concentrations of mimosine, phenolic acids, and flavonoids in the vicinity of L. leucocephala, including its rhizosphere soil, have not yet been reported.

Selecting appropriate native species for the biological control of invasive exotic plants is a recurring challenge for conservationists, ecologists, and land managers. Recently developed trait-based approaches may be an effective means of overcoming this challenge. However, we lack a protocol and software platform that can be used to quickly and effectively select potential native plant species for performing biological control of the invasive exotic plant species. Here, our study introduces a protocol and a software program that can be used for trait-based selection of appropriate native plant species for performing biocontrol of invasive exotic plant species. In particular, we illustrate the effectiveness of this software program and protocol by identifying native species that can be used for the biological control ofLeucaena leucocephala(Lam.) de Wit, a highly invasive plant species found in many parts of the world.Bougainvillea spectabiliswas the only native species selected by our software program as a potential biocontrol agent forL. leucocephala.When separately planting 4 seedlings ofB. spectabilisand two unselected species (Bombax ceiba, andFicus microcarpa) as neighbors of each individual ofL. leucocephalafor 3 years, we found thatB. spectabilis, which was functionally similar to the invasiveL. leucocephala, significantly limited the invasion of the latter, while the unselected native plant species could not. That was because all the seedling ofB. spectabilissurvived, while half seedlings of unselected species (B. ceibaandF. microcarpa) died, during the experimental period when planted withL. leucocephalaseedlings. Moreover, the growth ofL. leucocephalawas restricted when planted withB. spectabilis, in contrastB. ceibaandF. microcarpadid not influence the growth ofL. leucocephala.Overall, our software program and protocol can quickly and efficiently select native plant species for use in the biological control of invasive exotic plant species. We expect that this work will provide a general protocol to perform biological control of many different types of invasive exotic plant species.

Gynecological problems and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are greatly affecting women health especially in developing countries due to lack of modern reproductive health facilities, poverty and different cultural norms. Consequently, a large population of Pakistan turns toward ethno-medicinal healthcare systems due to accessibility, affordability, availability and an inherent trust in this method. The present review was framed by searching different search engines for the collection of fragmented literature on indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants used by Pakistani women to treat gynecological complaints and STIs. In total, 116 plant species used in Pakistan to treat a variety of gynecological complaints and STIs. The dominant plant families used for the preparation of herbal remedies are Asteraceae and Amaranthaceae. Majority of the plants were reportedly found to be used against menses (46 plant species) followed by gonorrhea (30 plant species). The frequency of citation was also found higher for these two complications, which might be due to the higher prevalence of these problems in Pakistan. The highest number of plant species (59) was reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province of Pakistan due to more cultural resistance as compared to other provinces. Sørensen similarity index showed the highest consensus between Pashtun and Punjabi cultures of Pakistan in terms of plants and parts usage for species Convolvulus arvensis, Justicia adhatoda, Achyranthes aspera, Berberis lycium, Punica granatum and Withania somnifera. Interestingly, these plants were also reported to treat multiple reproductive problems indicating their high bioactivity. Thirteen plants including A. aspera and P. granatum have also been reportedly evaluated pharmacologically and found active confirming the efficacy of traditional medicines. Few plants (17% of total) were reportedly evaluated for toxicity, among which Nerium oleander, Euphorbia hirta and Acacia nilotica showed toxic effects on living systems. The present findings stress the need for further in-depth studies on the phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological aspects of commonly important medicinal plants used for multiple gynecological complaints and STIs in different cultures in order to provide reliable information to the primary users and development of novel drugs.