Medicinal plants of the Royal Botanic Garden site at Tell Ar-Rumman in Jordan

The present study describes the floristic features and some of the documented pharmaceutical values of the medicinal plants that are present at the Royal Botanic Garden site in Tell Ar-Rumman in Jordan. A total of 574 plant species are recorded through a plant survey that was carried out during the period of 2006 to 2010. Among the recorded plant species, fifty nine species (10%) are considered medicinal e.g. Varthemia iphionoides Boiss. & C.I.Blanche, of these 6% are medicinal poisonous e.g. Mandragora autumnalis Bertol. The recorded medicinal plants are distributed among 51 genera and 24 families while Compositae is the dominating family with 11 species followed by 8 species for Labiatae. The majority of them belong fully or partially to the Mediterranean chorotype. The life form spectrum showed that the annuals comprised (24%) followed by (Chamaephytes) dwarf shrubs (20%) and hemicryptophytes (15%).

The recorded plants are reported in the literature to have important medicinal values, e.g. Ballota undulata Benth. (hypolipidaemic, antimicrobial); Capparis spinosa L. (arthritis and gout, liver dysfunction); Anchusa strigosa Labill. (anti ulcer); Hyoscyamus aureus L. (Psychoactive) and Pistacia atlantica DC. (antioxidant). Furthermore, Chemical analysis was also made by Jordanian researchers for some of the plants e.g. Anchusa strigosa, Alhagi maurorum Medik. and Urginea maritima Baker. This work is considered a base for further investigations about the pharmaceutical values and documentations of traditional knowledge of the plant uses.