**4. Historical evidence of wild plants usage**

Medicinal plants are considered as safe medication and it is also naturally valuable remedy for many human sufferings in rural and remote hilly regions of Kashmir [9]. Due to the lack of advanced medicinal services, usage of flora as ethno medicine is renowned. Traditional curative usage of herbal plants by indigenous populations of AJK has been stated ([10] a&b; [11]). Saghir et al. [12] found 53 plant species useful mostly as medicinal, fuel, fodder, fruit, timber and vegetables reported from Chikar and allied areas of District Muzaffarabad. Gorsi and Shahzad [13] documented medicinal flora and suggested regeneration work to save the traditional knowledge about plants of Dirkot. Ishtiaq et al. [14] stated that plants are indirectly related to the culture and they stated 36 plant species used for the treatment of various diseases in Samahni valley. Khan et al. [15] indicated that the inhabitants of Poonch Valley utilized 169 plant species for more than 30 domestic needs. Ajaib et al. [16] provided ethnobotanical data on medicinal flora of district Kotli by reporting 38 species of shrubs. Saqib et al. [17] studied the medicinal flora of mountainous areas of AJK. Some of medicinally important plant species include *Saussurea lappa, Aconitum heterophyllum, Jurinea dolomea, Bistorta amplexicaule, Plectranthus rugosus,, Geranium wallichianum, Ajuga bracteosa, Taraxacum offincinale, Quercus incana, Berberis lyceum* and *Viola canescens* [18]. 70% of the therapeutic flora in the area comprise of wild species; 70–80% inhabitants dependent on traditional medications [19]. People of Azad Jammu & Kashmir are still dependent mainly on medicinal plants for folk remedies, hence creating immense pressure on native vegetation by overexploiting them, particularly in the mountainous region of Kashmir [20].
