DefinePK

Abstract

Abstract | This study was carried out to evaluate the biological spectrum and floristic composition of the settlement of Palangzai in Miran Shah, North Waziristan in 2017. Total 130 species from 51 families make up the floristic diversity. Poaceae and Asteraceae had 12 species apiece, while Solanaceae had 10 species, making them the most abundant family. Lamiaceae and Papilionaceae follow with six species apiece, followed by Brassicaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, and Rosaceae with five each. Less than five species were found in each of the other families. According to life forms, the two most prevalent life forms were Microphanerophytes, with 23 species (17.69%) and Therophytes, with 66 species (50.76%). The remaining living forms were 16 species of Chamaephytes (12.30%), 11 species of Hemicryptophytes (8.46%), 8 species of Nannophanerophytes (6.15%), and 6 species of Geophytes (4.61%). The principal leaf size classes identified by the leaf size spectra were Mesophylls, with 23 species (16.92%), Microphylls, with 38 species (29.23%), and Nanophylls, with 43 species (33.07%). There were 21 species of leptophyll (16.15%), three species of megaphyll (2.30%), two species of aphyllous (1.53%), and one species of macrophyll (0.76%) among the remaining leaf size groups. Indicating the xeric nature of the region, the most common leaf sizes were nanophylls, microphylls, and mesophylls.