Distribution and Molecualr Phylogeny of Artemisia Plants from Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Abstract

In Pakistan, currently 38 species of the genus Artemisia (Asteraceae) have been identified so far. These Artemisia species were found in different phytogeographical regions including the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. In this doctoral thesis, emphasis have been given to the ethnobotany, floral morphology, foliar epidermal anatomy (Epidermal cells/stomata types and diversity in trichomes), pollen morphology, phytogeography and molecular phylogeny of Artemisia species from Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. This study explored some rare species of the genus Artemisia and their folk medicinal uses from Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. The areas with deprived documentation of traditional information were covered and the native traditional medicinal awareness of the Artemisia species was acknowledged. For the first time in this investigation, 15 Artemisia species were explored and presented in the form of plates. These ethnobotanicaly important species were, Artemisia absinthium L., Artemisia annua L., Artemisia austriaca Jacq., Artemisia biennis Willd., Artemisia campestris L., Artemisia chamaemelifolia Vill., Artemisia herba-alba Asso., Artemisia indica Willd., Artemisia maritima L. Ex Hook. F., Artemisia rutifolia sub sp., Artemisia rutifolia var., Artemisia scoparia Waldst. & Kit., Artemisia sieversiana Ehrhl. Ex Willd., Artemisia verlotiorum Lamotte., and Artemisia vulgaris L. The native people of different regions of Gilgi-Baltistan uses different parts of these Artemisia species as food, ornaments, fuel and for medicinal purposes and were employed against more than 30 different kinds of ailments. The morphology of this genus is very complex and difficult to address. This is because the same species shows different forms under certain ecological conditions. Therefore, it was a dire need to revise the morphology of Artemisia species from Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan. In this study, 66 morphological characters of 20 Artemisia species were nominated for the cladistics analysis of genus Artemisia. The consequential cladogram divided genus Artemisia into five major clades. Subgenus Artemisia and subgenus Absinthium were dispersed between the clades of other sections and appeared as a polyphyletic. All the remaining sections were found to be monophyletic. Subgenus Seriphidium was grouped with Artemisia clade which authenticates its recombination with the genus Artemisia. The micro-morphological attributes of foliar epidermal cells of 19 Artemisia species and stomata types of 17 Artemisia species using SEM and LM were evaluated. Primary