Abstract

King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Royal Natural Reserve (KSRNR) is the largest protected area in the Middle East. This literature review study considered the primary survey on the native medicinal plant diversity at KSRNR in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). KSRNR flora, until now, has about 260 plant species, representing about 12% of the KSA flora. Information was gathered through an extensive literature survey, which resulted in 91 plant species (35% of KSRNR species) that have traditional medicinal uses. These plant species belong to 68 genera and 29 families. Asteraceae and Brassicaceae have the highest number of species (14 and 8, respectively), while 14 families have only one species. The medicinal plants were categorized into three life forms; shrubs were the dominant (40% of the total species), while trees were the lowest (2%). Among the species, 50% of them use the whole plant for treatment, followed by the leaf (20%), while less than 1% use their latex. Additionally, twenty-three medicinal species were used to treat a single disease. It is worth noting that the majority of KSRNR plant species (62%) were uncommonly distributed in the KSRNR regions. This study underscores the importance of prioritizing conservation efforts and sustainable development for wild medicinal plant species in KSRNR and KSA.

Key words: KSRNR, Medicinal plant, traditional uses, conservation.