Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants in the southern mountain area of Kunyu mountain, China.

Introduction: The southern mountainous area of Kunyu Mountain is in the Jiaodong Peninsula of China, which is rich in medicinal plant resources. For a long time, the residents in the Southern Mountain area of Kunyu Mountain have used a variety of plants for pharmacy practice and have accumulated rich knowledge of medicinal plants. Although medicinal plants were widely used, there were no reports on the medicinal plants used by residents in the southern mountainous area of Kunyu Mountain. This study aimed to document the medicinal plants and evaluate the associated traditional knowledge possessed by residents of the southern mountainous area of Kunyu Mountain. Methods: Through face-to-face interviews with 256 residents, the species, preparation, and use of medicinal plants, and related traditional medicinal knowledge were quantitatively analyzed using the Informant Consensus Factor (FIC) and the Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC). Results: We identified 338 species of medicinal plants in this study, belonging to 87 families and 230 genera. Among these, Asteraceae was the dominant family and the whole grass was the most commonly used part for drug preparation, and decoction and oral administration were the most common preparation methods and routes of administration, respectively. In terms of utilization rate, Discussion: This study lists the species of medicinal plants on the southern mountainous area of Kunyu Mountain. It records their therapeutic uses, which could provide a reference for further chemical and pharmacological studies on medicinal plants.