1 Introduction

District QillaSaifullah is the north-western district of Balochistan province, Pakistan. This District was named after Saifullah Khan, who was from the Mirdadzai (Khodadzai) tribe of KakarSunzerKhail. Area-wise district QillaSaifullah ranks 15th (ranking order: smallest to the largest) in Balochistan and has an area of 6,831square kilometers. It lies between 67°17'37"-69°22'54" East longitudes and 30°30'35"-31°37'10" North latitude. Mean annual rainfall in KillaSaifullah ranges between 125 and 500 millimeters, most of which falls in winter as snowfall. The total Mean Rainfall is 279.1 mm, Max. Temp is 27.0°C, Min Temp is 11.4°C. QillaSaifullah has a desert climate. The driest month is October, with 3 mm of rainfall. The greatest amount of precipitation occurs in March, with an average of 38 mm. The warmest month of the year is July, with an average temperature of 27.6°C. The lowest average temperatures in the year occur in January, when it is around 4.9°C. There are three tehsils of District QillaSaifullah, tehsil QillaSaifullah, Loi Band and Muslim Bagh (Pervez et al., 2011)

Aquatic angiosperms are defined as obvious plants that live in water bodies e.g., ponds, lakes and stream. They may also be differentiated as plants that develop near the shores of flowing and stagnant aquatic bodies (Sculthorpe, 1967; Cook, 1974).

Hydrophytes are indispensable for the prevention of too much muddiness and erosion of soil and to maintain delicate balance of nutrients in water. Plants growing by the side of the banks of ponds make available habitat for water fowl, protection to fishes, and increases the plankton bulk (Ahmad and Younas, 1979). Water plants play an essential role in keeping well ecosystems as providing food, medicines and building materials. Aquatic angiosperms are a major part of the World’s flora (Sardar et al., 2013). About 79 families and 380 genera include aquatic angiospermic species (Cook et al., 1974). Usually the internal structures of different parts (such as cortex of stem and root, the ground tissue of the petiole, and the leaf mesophyll) of aquatic plants have been made adaptable to buoyancy and aeration (Marwat et al., 2011a).

Depending upon the relationship to water and air, the hydrophytes can be studied under various types, some are submerged hydrophytes (totally embedded under the water and are not incontact with atmosphere) which may be free floating (e.g., Ceratophyllum, Myriophyllum, and Utricularia etc.) or rooted (Hydrilla, Vallisneria, Potamogeton, etc.). Others are floating hydrophytes (which float on the surface or slightly below the surface of water, having no contact with atmosphere), which may be free floating, e.g., duck weeds (Lemna and Wolffia), water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) or rooted to substratum, e.g., lotus (Nelumbium) and water lily (Nymphaea) .

Still others are partially submerged hydrophytes (that are partly in water and partly in air). The aquatic part may be in shallow water or muddy sub-stratum (Singh, 2012). Such habitats include banks of canals, rivers, periphery of water bodies which are mostly in earthen dams, and partly in masonry dams, drainage ditches and water ponds near villages. These may be called semi-aquatic but more appropriately referred to as emergent aquatic (Marwat et al., 2013).

There are conditions where vast areas of land remain swamped with water for long periods of time, and may only dry out in severe drought situations. Such lands areknown as marshes or swampy areas. They support a different type of vegetation which may include plants that are capable of growing under both flooded and saturatedconditions (Lancar and Krake, 2002).Some floristic work has been carried out and a number of research papers have appeared in different journals on aquatic plants in the country by Jafri (1966), Stewart (1972), Beg and Samad (1974), Ahmed and Younis (1979), Omer and Hashmi (1987), Leghari et al. (1999), Qaiser (2001), Leghari (2004), Maseeh (2007), Marwat et al. (2009), Marwat et al. (2011a; 2011b) and Marwat et al. (2013) and Ishaq et al.(2017). But no research work about aquatic angiosperms of QillaSaifullah has been undertaken. The present preliminary study is an attempt to highlight some of the aquatic angiospermic plant species of the research area. Further, more work is needed in this regard.

2 Materials and Methods

A floristic study of the semi aquatic and marshland plants of QillaSaifullah Tehsil (Figure 1) of QillaSaifullah District, Balochistan, Pakistan, was conducted during 2016. The specimens were collected by hand from various aquatic habitats such as burmas, slow-running streams, and sides of streams, vegetable fields, sewerage canals and marshy places of the study area. The research area was surveyed to investigate the plant species. Field trips were arranged to various villages and streams. Many species were collected and photographs were taken. Plants were identified with the help of available literature, and internet. Literature used for identification included Jafri (1966), Beg and Samad (1974), Bhopal and Chaudhri (1977a; 1977b), Ahmad and Younis (1979), Cope (1982), Marwat et al. (1996), Leghari et al. (1999), Qaiser (2001), Leghari et al. (2004), Marwat et al. (2009), Marwat et al. (2011a; 2011b) and Marwat et al. (2013) and Ishaq et al. (2017). Plants with botanical names, common names, family, class, habit, flowering and fruiting period, availability, distribution, and % age share of families were listed in Table 1, Table 2, and Table3. Photographs of some plants were also made and were included in the paper.

3 Results and Discussion

The present preliminary study was conducted for the first time in QillaSaifullah Tehsil of the district QillaSaifullah, Balochistan, Pakistan. During the study 30 species of 27 genera belonging to 16 families were recorded from the research area (Table 1). Of these, monocots were represented by 12 species belonging to 10 genera and 4 families, while dicots contributed 18 species of 17 genera and 12 families. Poaceae was the largest family that contributed 07 species (23.33%), followed by Typhaceae with 03 species (10%) each; next 6 families, Asteraceae, Brassicaeae, Chenopodiaceae, Cyperaceae, Polygonaceae and Rnunculaceae with 02 species (06.66 %) each; while the last 08 families contributed 1 species (3.33%) each (Figure 2 and Table 4). Enumeration of the taxa is as follows.

Alternanthera sessilis (Linn.) DC., Annual or usually perennial herb. A common species, very widepsread in the tropics and subtroprics of both Old and New Worlds in waste and cultivated ground, especially in damp or wet conditions.

Arundo donax L. (Poaceae)is an aquatic plant which develops in wet places such as ditches, watercourses, and riverbanks, growing tremendously in well drained soils where abundant dampness and sunlight is present (ISSG, 2011). It is distributed in tropical and temperate areas of the world including Pakistan (Cope, 1982). Arundo donax is also found in QillaSaifullah Tehsil (Figure 3).

Chenopodium glaucum L.(Chenopodiaceae)occurs in gardens, roadsides, lake shores.Usually found inmarshland, but rarely in non-wetlands. It is cosmopolitan, mostly found in subtropical and temperate regions (Freitag et al., 2011).Also occurs in Pakistan including our research area i.e. QillaSaifullah Tehsil (Figure 4).

Coronopus didymusL. (Brassicaceae) is perhaps a native of S. America, but widely introduced almost throughout the world. Coronopusdidymus(L.) Smith occurs in Pakistan (Jafri, 1973). This species, is also reported from QillaSaifullah Tehsil.

Cyperus rotundusL. (Cyperaceae) is found in ditches, ponds and rivers shores, and rice fields in Pakistan (Marwat et al., 2013). It also occurs in our research area, QillaSaifullah Tehsil.

Cynodon dactylon (Linn.) Pers., (Poaceae) isa perennial grass distributed all over the world, and particularly it is native to the warm temperate and tropical regions (Ashokkumar et al., 2013). It is found as a weed in cultivated fields and moist and marshy grounds in QillaSaifullahTehsil (our research area).

Echinochloa colona (Poaceae): It is considered to be one of the finest fodder grasses and is eagerly eaten by cattle both before and after flowering (Cope, 1982). It frequently occurs in wet places and rice fields in Pakistan (Marwatet al., 2013) and is also found in QillaSaifullahTehsil.

Leptochloa panicea (Retz.) Ohwi is found as a weed in cultivated fields (Cope, 1982), roadsides, rice fields, damp weedy places. This species is an excellent forage grass (jizicao). In our research area, it occurs in cultivated, wet and swampy grounds.

Myriophyllum: The genus Myriophyllum (Haloragidaceae) includes 40-45 cosmopolitan species (Cook et al., 1974; Ghazanfar, 1977). The species frequently are hydrophytes, found in various habitats (Cook et al., 1974). Two species are found in Pakistan. M. spicatum occurs in fresh water lakes, rivers and canals in the Baluchistan, Baltistan and Kashmir areas of Pakistan (Ghazanfar, 1977). In our research area i.e., QillaSaifullah Tehsil it is also found (Figure 5).

Mentha longifolia (Lamiaceae) is a polymorphic aromatic (Hedge, 1990) and semi-aquatic herb (Ishaqet et al., 2017). The correct nomenclatural citation of this species is, to some extent, a matter of opinion. In this paper following (Hedge, 1990) M. longifoliahas been favoured. In QillaSaifullah Tehsil, it is also found.

Nasturtium officinaleR. Br.(Brassicaceae): It is very common along drains and other wet places in Pakistan (Jafri, 1973). In our research area i.e., QillaSaifullahTehsil,it is found in swamps, marshes.

Paspalum paspaloides (Michx.) Scribner (Poaceae) occurs as a weed in garden, along ditches and irrigation channels, in rice-fields and in marshy places (Cope, 1982). It also grows in our research area i.e., QillaSaifullah Tehsil.

Phalaris minor (Poaceae) is one of the 2 native species of Pakistan (Cope, 1982). In QillaSaifullah Tehsil it is found as a weed in cultivated grounds and moistplaces.

Phragmites karka (Poaceae) is a cosmopolitan and is usually found in thick places, ponds and lakes, in marshes and in estuaries (Cook, 1974). It is also found in Pakistan (Cope, 1982). In QillaSaifullah Tehsil it occurs in ponds, swamps and beside streams of the area.

Phyla nodiflora Common in wet places almost throughout Pakistan plains, often in gregarious patches.

Plantago major (Plantaginaceae) occurs in meadows, wet places, wastelands. It has been widely naturalized throughout much of the world (Kazmi, 1974). In QillaSaifullah Tehsil (Pakistan) it is found in marshy places, along irrigation channels etc (Figure 6).

Polygonum plebejum (Polygonaceae) is found near fields and roads, wet areas. It is commonly found in Pakistan including QillaSaifullah Tehsil.

Portulaca oleracea L. (Portulacaeae) A cosmopolitan weed in cultivated fields and waste moist places. Probably native of South-West parts of United States and now widely distributed in warm temperate, tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world (Ghafoor, 1973). This species grows as a weed in cultivated grounds and waste damp marshy places. The species is of ethnobotanical importance (Marwat et al., 2011c). P. oleracea also occurs in QillaSaifullah Tehsil.

Potamogeton pectinatus (Potamogetonaceae) Aquatic perennial, profusely branched, filiform, rhizomatous with tuberous winter-buds, leaves submerged (Cook et al., 1974). It is also reported from Pakistan (Aziz and Jaferi, 1975) and QillaSaifullah Tehsil (Figure 7).

Ranunculus muricatus L. and R. scleratus L. commonly grows in marshy places in Pakistan (Riedle and Nasir, 1991). In QillaSaifullah Tehsil these two species also occur.

Rumex dentatus L., grows in disturbed habitat, frequently in damp areas, such aslakeshores and the boundaries of cultivated grounds. It is also found in QillaSaifullah Tehsil.

Salix acmophylla (Salicaceae) is commonly cultivated along the margins of the ponds and irrigation channels in QillaSaifullah Tehsil.

Suaeda fruticosa (Chenopodiaceae) is halophytic species, growing on wet, moistor dry saline, alkaline and gypsiferous soils in semi deserts, deserts and along sea-shores. In Pakistan, S. fruticosais the most common and ecologically most adaptable species of the genus (Freitag et al., 2001) and is also found in QillaSaifullah Tehsil.

Schoenoplectus (Cyperaceae): There are c. 60 species, included in genus Schoenoplectus, which are widespread in the world. 11 species are found in Pakistan (Kukkonen, 2001) and one species, S. litoralis (Schrad.) Palla occurs in QillaSaifullah Tehsil (Figure 8).This species is partially submerged aquatic herb found in marshy grounds (Marwat et al., 2008), alluvial meadows, by rivers and lakes, rice fields (Kukkonen, 2001).

Sonchus maritimus L. is common on irrigation drainage channels, roadside (Qureshi et al., 2002).It also occurs in QillaSaifullah Tehsil (Figure 9).

Symphyotrichum squamatum (Michaux) G.L. Nesom is found in disturbed areas, roadsides, grassy fields, irrigation ditches, rice field margins; near sea level to 2000 m. (Chen and Brouillet, 2011). It is also found in our research area (QillaSaifullah Tehsil).

Typha: The genus Typha of family Typhaceae, has about 10-11 species. It also occurs in different marshland environment (Omer and Hashmi, 1987; Thomas, 2008). In Pakistan, 5 species have been reported (Omer and Hashmi, 1987). Three species, Typha domingensis, Typha laxmannii (Figure 10) and Typha latifolia are found in QillaSaifullah Tehsil. These species abundantly occurs in fresh and brackish marshland, and along water courses (Swapna et al., 2011).

Refrences

Ahmad N., and Younus M., 1979, Aquatic plants of Lahore, Pakistan, Association for advancement of science,14-Shah Jamal Colony, Lahore-12, 14: 17-20

Ashokkumar K., Selvaraj K., and Muthukrishnan S.D., 2013,Cynodondactylon(L.) Pers.: An updated review of its phytochemistry and pharmacology,J. Med. Plants Res. 7(48): 3477-3483

Aziz K., and Jafri S.M. H., 1975, Potamogetonaceae, In: E. Nasir and S.I. Ali (eds). Flor.Pak., Karachi, 79:5-10

Beg A.R., and K.A. Samad, 1974, Flora of Malakand Division Part-1(B),Pak. J. Forestr, Pakistan Forest Institute, Peshawar, 24(3): 279-285

Chen Y.,and L. Brouillet, 2011,Asteraceae, In: Flora of China, 20-21: 651-652

Cook C.D.K., B.J. Gut, E.M. Rix, J. Schneller, and M. Seitz, 1974, Water Plants of the World, A manual for the identification of the genera of fresh water Macrophytes. Dr.W. Junk B.V., Publishers, The Hague, 3-560

Cope T.A., 1982,Poaceae, In: Flora of Pakistan, (Eds.): E. Nasir and S.I. Ali, Islamabad, 143: 26-27

Fay M., 2013, Epipactisveratrifolia,The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013

Freitag H., I.C. Hedge, S.M.H. Jafri, G. Kothe-Heinrich, S. Omer, and P. Uotila, 2001, Chenopodiaceae, In: Flora of Pakistan, (Eds.): S.I. Ali and M. Qaiser, 204: 107-112

Ghafoor A., 1973,Portulacaceae, In: Nasir E, Ali SI, editors, Flora of West Pakistan, Karachi, Pakistan: University of Karachi, 51: 1-8

Ghazanfar S.A.,1977,Haloragidaceae, In: Flora of West Pakistan,(Eds.): E. Nasir and S.I. Ali. Karachi, Karachi, 113:1-2

Hedge I.C., 1990, Labiatae, In: Flora of Pakistan, (Eds.): S.I. Ali and Y.J. Nasir, 192: 310

Ishaq K., S.K. Marwat, and N.K. Mandokhel, 2017, Preliminary Study of Aquatic and Marshland Angiosperms of Zhob District, Balochistan, Pakistan, Pak. J. Bot., 2017, 49(2): 715-723

ISSG, 2011, issg Database: Ecology of Arundodonax, Available at: http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=112

Jafri, S.M.H., 1966,The Flora of Karachi, The Book Corporation, Karachi, pp. 9

Jafri S.M.H., 1973. Brassicaceae, In: Flora of Pakistan, (Eds.): E. Nasir and S.I. Ali. Karachi, 55: 62-63

Jizicao,Poaceae, Flora of China, 22: 469 – 470

Kazmi M.A., 1974, Plantaginaceae, In: Flora of Pakistan. (Eds.): E. Nasir & S.I. Ali., 62: 1-21

Kukkonen I., 2001,Cyperaceae.In: Flora of Pakistan, (Eds.): E. Nasir and S.I. Ali, Islamabad, 206: 9-149

Lancar L., and K. Krake, 2002, Aquatic weeds and their management.International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, pp. 1-65

Leghari S.M., S.I.H. Jafri, M.A. Mahar, K.H. Lashari, S.S. Ali, M.Y. Khuwhar, and T.M. Jahangir, 1999, Biodiversity of Chotiari Reservoir, District Sanghar Sindh, Pakistan,In:Proceedings of the seminar on Aquatic Biodiversity of Pakistan, 139-157

Leghari M.K., M.Y. Leghari, M. Shah, and S.N. Arbani, 2004, Comparative ecological study of algal genera and useful aquatic weeds of various localities of Pakistan, Pak. J.WaterResour., 8(2):17-28

Marwat S.K., R.A. Qureshi, and M.A. Khan, 1996, The Cyperaceae of Rawalpindi District, Pak. Systemat., Quaidi-Azam University, Islamabad, 6(1-2): 1-48

Marwat S.K., and M. Khan, 2008, Biodiversity of sedges in Dera Ismail Khan District, NWFP Pakistan.Sarhad. J. Agric.,24(2): 293-303

Marwat S.K, M.A. Khan, M. Ahmad, and M. Zafar, 2009, Nymphoidesindica(L.)Kuntze, A New Record for Pakistan, Pak. J. Bot., 41(6): 2657-2660

Marwat S.K., M.A. Khan, M. Ahmad, and M. Zafar, 2011a, Floristic account of submersed aquatic angiosperms of Dera Ismail Khan District, northwestern Pakistan, J. Aquat. Plant Manage,49: 125-128

Marwat S.K., A.K. Mir, F. Rehman, A. Mushtaq, and M. Zafar, 2011b, Biodiversity and Importance of Floating Weeds of Dera Ismail Khan District of KPK, Pakistan.Afr J. Tradit Complement Altern Med., 8(S): 97-107

Marwat S.K., Rehman F., Khan M.A., Ahmad M., Zafar M., and Ghulam S, 2011c, Medicinal Folk Recipes used as traditional phytotherapies in district dera Ismail KhanKPK, Pakistan. Pak. J. Bot., 43(3):1453-1462

Marwat S.K., Rehman F., Usman K., Rashid A., and Ghulam S., 2012, Biodiversity of Grassy Weeds and their Ethnobotanical importance in Dera Ismail Khan District (D. I. Khan), KPK, Pakistan,Pak. J. Bot., 44(2): 733-738

Marwat S.K., Usman K., Shah R.A., Shah A., and Khan E.A., 2013, Floristic account of Emergent-Aquatic and Marshland Angiosperms of D.I. Khan District, KPK, Pakistan, Pak. J. Bot., 45: 279-288

Maseeh T., 2007, Taxonomic Studies of Hydrophytes of Potowar Region of Pakistan, M.Phil.Thesis.Department of Plant Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad

Omer S., and Hashmi R.Y., 1987, Typhaceae, In: Flora of Pakistan, (Eds.): E. Nasir & S.I. Ali, Karachi, 177: 5-7, Pakistan,Pak. J. Bot., 43(3):1445-1452

Pervez S.A.Z., 2011, District Development Profile, KillaSaifullah,Prepared by Planning & Development Department, Government of Balochistan, Quetta in Collaboration with United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF Provincial Office Balochistan, Quetta

Qaiser M., 2001, Polygonaceae, In: Flora of Pakistan, (Eds.): S.I. Ali. and E. Nasir., Islamabad, 205: 1-182

Qureshi S.J., Awan A.G., Khan M.A., and Bano S., 2002, Taxonomic Study of the Genus Sonchus L. from Pakistan, Online Journal of Biological Sciences, 2(5): 309-314

https://doi.org/10.3923/jbs.2002.309.314

Riedle H., and Nasir Y.J., 1991, Ranunculaceae, In: Flora of Pakistan. (Eds.): S.I. Ali and Yasin J. Nasir, No. 193:1-157

Sardar A.A., Perveen A., and Khan Z., 2013, Apalynological survey of wetland plants of Punjab, Pakistan,Pak. J. Bot., 45(6): 2131-2140

Sculthorpe C.D., 1967, The Biology of Aquatic Vascular Plants, Reprinted 1985 Edward Arnold, by London

Singh K., 2012, Hydrophytes are plants that live in abundance of water or in wet places

Stewart R.R., 1972, An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of West Pakistan and Kashmir, In: Flora of West Pakistan, (Eds.): E. Nasir and S.I. Ali, 70-102

Swapna M.M., Prakashkumar R., Anoop K.P., Manju C.N., andRajith N.P., 2011, A review on the medicinal and edible aspects of aquatic and wetland plants of India, J. Med. Plants Res., 5(33): 7163-7176

https://doi.org/10.5897/JMPRX11.005