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Abstract Background Mountain ecosystems all over the world support a high biological diversity and provide home and services to some 12% of the global human population, who use their traditional ecological knowledge to utilise local natural resources. The Himalayas are the world's youngest, highest and largest mountain range and support a high plant biodiversity. In this remote mountainous region of the Himalaya, people depend upon local plant resources to supply a range of goods and services, including grazing for livestock and medicinal supplies for themselves. Due to their remote location, harsh climate, rough terrain and topography, many areas within this region still remain poorly known for its floristic diversity, plant species distribution and vegetation ecosystem service. Methods The Naran valley in the north-western Pakistan is among such valleys and occupies a distinctive geographical location on the edge of the Western Himalaya range, close to the Hindu Kush range to the west and the Karakorum Mountains to the north. It is also located on climatic and geological divides, which further add to its botanical interest. In the present project 120 informants were interviewed at 12 main localities along the 60 km long valley. This paper focuses on assessment of medicinal plant species valued by local communities using their traditional knowledge. Results Results revealed that 101 species belonging to 52 families (51.5% of the total plants) were used for 97 prominent therapeutic purposes. The largest number of ailments cured with medicinal plants were associated with the digestive system (32.76% responses) followed by those associated with the respiratory and urinary systems (13.72% and 9.13% respectively). The ailments associated with the blood circulatory and reproductive systems and the skin were 7.37%, 7.04% and 7.03%, respectively. The results also indicate that whole plants were used in 54% of recipes followed by rhizomes (21%), fruits (9.5%) and roots (5.5%). Conclusion Our findings demonstrate the range of ecosystem services that are provided by the vegetation and assess how utilisation of plants will impact on future resource sustainability. The study not only contributes to an improved understanding of traditional ethno-ecological knowledge amongst the peoples of the Western Himalaya but also identifies priorities at species and habitat level for local and regional plant conservation strategies.

Evolvulus nummularius (L.) L., a member of the Convolvulaceae, is native to Mexico and South America but nowadays grows around the world in many tropical and subtropical regions. Its presence in Pakistan, where it has become naturalized, is reported here for the first time. It was first discovered in Pakistan in the Jhok Reserve Forest in Lahore city of Punjab Province on September 5, 2016. It has since been found in four more localities in Lahore. Although E. nummularius has some medicinal value and is edible, it is usually considered a weed in the south and southeast of Asia. A detailed morphological description and comparison with other species is provided together with illustrations and an identification key for the two species of Evolvulus now established in Pakistan. In addition, the geographic distribution, ecology, economic importance, and invasive potential of E. nummularius are discussed. The description and key have been integrated with other floristic resources for Pakistan via two web sites, OpenHerbarium and KeyBase, to facilitate their discovery. Eradication of this introduced herb is probably impossible, but steps can and should be taken now to restrict its further spread within Pakistan before it affects the productivity of croplands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]