Taxonomic study of wild species of the Fabaceae family in Diyala Province-Iraq

Received: 22-Dec-2022, Manuscript No. mp-22-84463; Accepted: 30-Dec-2022, Pre QC No. mp-22-84463(PQ); Editor assigned: 25-Dec-2022, Pre QC No. mp-22-84463(PQ); Reviewed: 27-Dec-2022, QC No. mp-22-84463(Q); Revised: 29-Dec-2022, Manuscript No. mp-22-84463(R); Published: 31-Dec-2022

Introduction

The leguminous family (Fabaceae) is the second most economically important plant family, with cultivated species all over the world and wild species that are no less important than cultivated plants because they are at the forefront of invested plants in grazing, fodder production, pharmaceutical industries and the extraction of medicinal drugs, essential oils, and therapeutic uses because they have no harmful effects (Almayah, 2013), and some of them are considered green manures, so they are used in agricultural cycles and coexist with the roots of plants (the Rhizobium bacteria), which fix atmospheric nitrogen, which contributes to enriching the soil nitrogen reserves and raising plant productivity (Habib, 2013). The legume family, according to the Hutchinson system, includes three subfamilies: Papilionaceae, Caesalpiniaceae, and Mimosaceae, and it includes 650 taxonomic ranks and 17,000 "cultivated" and wild species of trees, shrubs, trellises, and herbs spread in tropical, subtropical, and hot regions around the world (Townsend & Guest, 1974), and in view of its great importance at the global level and because there is a great global trend to study wild plants on a large scale, to solve problems of food security, medicine, economic, and other needs and to secure the optimal investment for this vital and important aspect of biodiversity in which the study area (Diyala Governorate) abounds, being located within three vegetation regions are the steppes (semimountainous region), the desert-steppe region (the plain region), and the riverside region (Diyala River). This diversity has been subjected to the decline of many wild plant species and the disappearance or extinction of others because of excessive and unsustainable local, commercial and industrial use, overgrazing, urban sprawl, bad land investment, or due to invasive plants that threaten 55% of the local plant communities and the ecosystems associated with them, so the protection of important areas for plant diversity is an essential element for plant conservation activities in all countries as a basis for providing ecosystem services and conserving biodiversity, which supports sustainable livelihoods, and the conservation of wild plants on the basis of local communities (within their natural sites) is the most effective way to preserve plant diversity and protect it from the effects of climatic changes and other factors (Convention on Biological Diversity, 2009). The aim of this study is to conduct a comprehensive botanical survey of the genera and wild plant species of the legume family in the study area to develop an updated database for it and introduce its medicinal, poisonous, and forage types and raise awareness of their importance and protection.

Materials and Methods

Materials

•Protective gloves with a shovel for plants uproot, a high-resolution digital camera, a foldable metric scale, a colour bar (2m) and scissors for cutting branches.

•Geographical Information Systems (GPS) to determine sampling locations at sea level.

•Specially sealed bags for collecting samples, and labels with the place and date of sample collection written on them.

•Carton packages, newspaper paper, wooden presses, herbal scales, carton packages, and paper adhesive.

•Thermal fans, in which succulent plants were dried that could not be dried in the usual way.

Methods

Field visits: The various field trips were carried out at the rate of three field trips per month for almost every study area at regular times as much as possible, as the samples were photographed and collected in clear weather (not windy or rainy), and they were carefully selected to be free from diseases and fungal infections.

Pressing the plant samples: The samples were pressed after being shaken and washed from the dust between newspapers and regular cardboard, and packed between the wooden presses, taking into account opening them and moving them daily until they dried. Then, they were transferred to the herbaceous-size cardboard and fixed with paper tape, and their information patch was pasted on the lower right side of the sample. Written on it are the sample number, the local name, the area and place of collection, the name of the collector or collectors, and the date of collection.

Scientific classification of plants

The plants were classified scientifically based on the Iraqi flora in relation to the leguminous family (Townsen and Guset, 1974), the lowland flora (Rechinger, 1964), the first part of the updated lowland flora in Iraq (Kazim et al., 2016), the second part (Kazim et al., 2018), the geographical distribution of Iraqi wild plants (AL-Rawi, 1964), plant wealth in Iraq (Chakravarty, 1976; Al-Khatib, 1978), the key to classifying the genus Medicago (Francis, 1980; AlMahdawi, 2014), and botanical encyclopedias from neighboring countries for Iraq are also included, Turkey (Davis, 1965), Iran (Chrtkova-Zertova, 1979), Syria (Post, 1932), Jordan (Fawzi, 1988), Kuwait (AL-Rawi, 1985), and Saudi Arabia (Migahid, 1978).

Preservation of plant specimens

The samples, after their complete information was written down, were placed inside plastic bags, and the bags were well closed in order to preserve the samples from breakage and damage and were kept in the herb.

Results and Discussion

Phytochemical, Mineral Analysis and Proximate Composition

The botanical survey of the areas of Diyala Governorate during the research period (2021–2022) showed the presence of "wild" species organized into genera, whose taxonomic ranks belong to the Fabaceae family, and it is clear from Table 1 that most of the collected plants are herbaceous plants. Species of which are annual, types of which are perennial, and other types are semi-shrub perennial.

Table 1. Plants of the legume family classified according to the nature of their growth in the study area

From Table 2, it was found that 29 types of plants are of high fodder and pastoral value and are of great importance in improving soil quality, and types of them are of medical importance (Al-Mosili, 2013), and 2 of them are poisonous. L. corniculatu and M. indicus are at different stages of its life cycle (Al-Musali, 2018). Some of them are industrial, such as the licorice plant G. glabra, which is used in the pharmaceutical industries; the fruit of the thistle plant P. farcata is used in leather tanning in some countries; and some of them are used as fuel.

Table 2. Plants of the legume family classified according to their uses in the study area

The results of Table 3 showed that all plants are widely spread in the different provinces of Iraq (Towensend & Guest, 1974) and (AL-Rawi, 1964). In terms of geographical affiliation, the highest percentage of geographical affiliation was in Turkey, Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Kuwait.

Table 3. Plants of the legume family and their places of spread in Iraq and the neighboring countries of Iraq

This is explained on the basis of the convergence in natural conditions with the neighboring countries of Iraq, especially Turkey and Iran, and the climatic convergence that leads to overlap in biological diversity, especially plant diversity. The wind blows from Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Jordan, which has a great impact on the nature of the province and carries with it the seeds of various plants that grow in their appropriate environments in Iraq, including Diyala province Fig. a (1-4), b(5-8), c(9-12), d(13-16), e(17-20), f(21-24), g(25-28), h(29-32).

Figure 1a, b, c, d,e,f,g,h.: The field images of plants of the family Fabaceae in the study area

This survey may not show the true number of wild species of the legume family in the study area due to the exposure of the natural vegetation cover in it to the decline of many plant species and the disappearance of other species due to the harsh drought conditions and wind erosion that the area suffered during the years of study and the conversion of a lot of agricultural land into residential, industrial and other investments. In an unthoughtful manner, this led to the disappearance of many natural plants, marginal lands, and pastures in most of the governorate’s districts.

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