ETHNOBOTANICAL USE OF Typha domingensis Pers. (TYPHACEAE) IN AN ARID ZONE: SISTAN, IRAN
Résumé
Typha domingensis is a species with economic importance in Sistan (Zabol), Iran. The distributions of this species are the aquatic environments in the wet (north Iran), semi arid (northeastern Iran), and arid zones (centre and southeastern Iran). Hamun had been a shallow lake in Sistan (Iran and
Afghanistan). T. domingensis had a vast and dense distribution around and inside of the lake, but the lake dried up since several years ago (1996), and currently the region is a dry desert. In this situation T. domingensis grows only rarely now. Since Iranian part of Sistan have had periodical dryness in Hamun in several years ago (1969 - 1975), it seems that the lake perhaps have a chance to come back again. The indigenous people of many villages around the former lake are still dependent on this plant, using it for making “pardeh” (a kind of curtain). Thus, they provide the plant from the another part of Hamun Lake in Afghanistan. When the lake had water, many people fished and hunted wild birds. They had manufactured some kinds of boats for these purposes from T. domingensis, which can be found in a few local museums or in costal regions of the old lake at present.