Ethnobotany of desert medicinal plants and their sustainable ethnomedicinal utilization

In the desert areas with indigenous communities, they have a rich array of traditional knowledge regarding the usage of medicinal plants and this has become a major form of their primary health care practices. This broad ethnobotanical strategy in the desert ecosystems and the exploration revealed indigenous knowledge, sustainable resource use, and community well-being can be enhanced through the adoption of the traditions of healing. The data collection of the medicinal plants were conducted from Thal desert using semi-structured interviews, guided field interviews, direct observation, focus group discussions, and surveys, between spring and monsoon 2022.The analysis was done in terms of qualitative as well as quantitative indices; Use value (UV), Relative Frequency of citation (RFC) and Cultural Value Index (CVI). An extensive survey documented about 111 plant species of 26 families, of which Amaranthaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Euphorbiaceae, were mostly represented, which were typical practices found in Thal desert. Among others, it is worth noting that Tribulus terrestris, Tecomella undulata, and Tamarix aphylla were the most commonly used plants. The most used part of plants was leaves and herbal preparation of traditional remedies mainly the raw, powder and paste application form. In the quantitative analysis, Ziziphus nummularia was found to have the highest RFC value (0.52), while Iphione grantioides had the least RFC value (0.05),The survey uses quantitative ethnobotanical measures, such as the UV, RFC and CVI importance indices to measure and record the indigenous knowledge in a systematic manner in the context of primary health care. Folk tradition in the primary health care practices with an ethnomedical approach to the Thal desert is not only an improved way of improving the well-being of the community, but also an indication of a need to use resources in a sustainable manner.