Mohammed Sghir Taleb
Mohammed V University, Morocco
Title: Aromatic and Medicinal Plants in Morocco: Lever for economic and social development
Biography
Biography: Mohammed Sghir Taleb
Abstract
With its geographical situation (true crossroads between Europe and Africa and the Mediterranean and the Atlantic), with the diversity of its climate and its habitats, Morocco shelters a particularly varied natural vegetation, as well by its structure and its aspect, as by the diversity of the species. The floristic richness of the country is mainly related to the ecological heterogeneity of its biotopes. Indeed, of the desert to the high mountain and the littoral to the most continental borders, Morocco offers very varied ecological conditions which allowed the installation of species of various stocks.
The most important formations of the Moroccan vegetable carpets are the forests and the matorrals which extend on approximately 5 million hectares. Then the formations come to esparto (Stipa tenacissima) which cover nearly 3 million hectares.
The vascular flora of Morocco has 5211 species and subspecies distributed among 155 families and 981 genera. The number of endemic taxa amounted to 951 (18%). The rare or endangered flora species is estimated to be 463 and 1284 subspecies.
The number of Aromatic and Medicinal Plants in Morocco is estimated at about 800 species. These plants represent an important business in Morocco. The most important species are economically Thymus spp., Artemisia herba alba, Rosmarinus officinalis, Argania spinosa.
The use of Rosmarinus officinalis provides approximately 81.000 day work / year which correspond to a value of 4.050.000.00 MAD. On the global level, Morocco produces:
- 1 000 tones of essential oils: Dh 150 million
- Approximately 80 tonnes of medicinal plants: 100 million MAD
and generates about 500,000 Men day work.