Eminent botanists of Sindh University (SU) Professor Dr Muhammad Tahir Rajput and Dr Syeda Saleha Hassney have discovered new species of Salvadora from Sindh.
The scholars have said that species discovered was previously misidentified under Salvadora persica by earlier workers but their new research based on micro-morphological studies of seed, pollen grain and fruit characters clearly indicate that this new species is quite different from already discovered species of Salvadora.
The species was discovered from calcareous rocks of Jamshoro for this discovery a large number of living plants and herbarium specimen were examined by the botanists Dr Muhammad Tahir Rajput the Dean Faculty of Natural Sciences and Dr Syeda Saleha Hasney professor of botany, former Director Institute of Plant Sciences, Sindh University during last five years period. Dr Rajput while highlighting about the discovery of new species has said that in Pakistan three species of Salvadora are found which are commonly called Pillu.
The new species taxonimcally belongs to class Angiospermae and family Salvadoraceae which commonly grow in graveyards, deserted areas and also saline wasteland throughout middle and lower Sindh. Highlighting economic impact of discovered species Salvadora, the scholars revealed that the bark and root of this plant have both antibiotic and antiseptic properties. The root and young stem are used as Miswak (Crude Medicated tooth brush).
They said that because of its medicinal value particularly stem and roots used as Miswak is very popular, due to this reason people have started business of selling Miswak to Arab countries specially Saudi Arabia and earning a lot of foreign exchange.
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