ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS IN THE PROVINCE OF BERRECHID (MOROCCO)

Floristic and ethnobotanical study was conducted in order to achieve the most complete inventory of medicinal plants in the province of Berrechid and gather general information about the therapeutic uses practiced in the region. Using a surveys, based on direct questions relating to the uses of plants mentioned in the traditional pharmacopoeia, were conducted among the local population. To have an ethnobotanical inventory varied from one zone to another in the region studied and as complete as possible, the survey was carried out using a questionnaire. The series of ethnobotanical surveys conducted in the region, allowed us to identify 100 species belonging to 44 different plant families. The analysis of the results, concerning the relations existing between the medicinal species and types of diseases treated, has shown that most of these species are used primarily in the care of the digestive and respiratory system. These devices are handled mainly by the foliage which is the plant organ most used and the decoction which is the method of preparation the most dominant among the local population. The ethnobotanical results obtained shows that it’s possible to use some plants in the socio-economic development, particularly in rural Morocco.