## 3 Results  
### Understory Species Composition  
A total number of 58 understory plant species belonging to 32 families was identified at 30 different locations in the Hindukush ranges of Swat. The physiognomy was dominated by herbaceous growth form with 47 plant species (81%), followed by shrubs with 10 (17%), and trees with a single plant species (2%). Herbaceous dominancy may be due to altitudinal and geographical variations, indicating the herbaceous flora's climatic factors. Among the families, Fabaceae was the leading family with eight plant species, followed by Asteraceae and Lamiaceae with seven species each. Further, seven families (i.e., Amaranthataceae, Malvaceae, Poaceae, Plantaginaceae, Polygonaceae, Pteridaceae, and Rosaceae) were recorded with two plant species each. The remaining 22 families are represented by individual species (Table 1). \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Taxon** & **Family** & **Habit** & **Chorotype** & **Life-Form** & **Leaf Size** \\ \hline _Adynnthes aspera_ L. & Amaranthataceae & Herb & Plurireg & Th & N \\ _Adiantun ventusium_ D. Don & Pteridaceae & Herb & Cosm & G & N \\ _Ajugo braces_ [PERSON]. ex Benth. & Lamiaceae & Herb & Unireg & H & Mi \\ _Amarantus viridis_ L. & Amaranthataceae & Herb & Cosm & Th & Mi \\ _Arabidopsis thaliana_ (L.) [PERSON]. & Brassicaceae & Herb & Cosm & Th & L \\ _Arenaria sereylifolia_ L. & Caryophyllaceae & Herb & Cosm & Th & N \\ _Artemisia vulgaris_ L. & Asteraceae & Herb & Plurireg & Th & N \\ _Asplenium trichommes_ L. & Aspleniaceae & Herb & Bireg & H & N \\ _Astragalus grahamiumus_ Benth. & Fabaceae & Herb & Unireg & Ch & L \\ _Atropa acunimata_ [PERSON] ex Lindl. & Solanaceae & Herb & Plurireg & G & Mi \\ _Berberis lyticur_ Royle & Berberidaceae & Shrub & Unireg & NPh & L \\ _Bidens cernua_ L. & Asteraceae & Herb & Bireg & H & Mi \\ _Buddleja asiatica_ Lour. & Scrophulariaceae & Shrub & Cosm & NPh & Mi \\ _Calamintha vulgaris_ (L.) [PERSON]. & Lamiaceae & Herb & Plurireg & Th & N \\ _Chemopodium album_ L. & Chenopodiaceae & Herb & Cosm & H & N \\ _Convolvulus arrenesis_ L. & Convolvulaceae & Herb & Cosm & H & N \\ _Erigeron candensis_ L. & Asteraceae & Herb & Cosm & Th & L \\ _Cynodon actdylom_ (L) Pers. & Poaceae & Herb & Plurireg & H & L \\ _Daphme mucornata_ Royle & Thymelaaceae & Shrub & Bireg & NPh & N \\ _Dioscorea deltoidea_ Wall. ex [PERSON]. & Dioscoreaceae & Herb & Unireg & H & Mi \\ _Dodonaea viscosa_ Jacq. & Sapindaceae & Shrub & Cosm & NPh & Mi \\ _Dryopteris stewarti [PERSON]_ & Dryopteridaceae & Herb & Bireg & G & Me \\ _Elaagnus angustifolia_ L. & Eleaagnaceae & Shrub & Bireg & NPh & Mi \\ _Festata giguntea_ (L.) Vill. & Poaceae & Herb & Bireg & G & L \\ _Fragaria indida [PERSON]_ & Rosaceae & Herb & Plurireg & H & N \\ _Galium asserplifium_ Wall. & Rubiaceae & Herb & Unireg & Th & L \\ _Hibiscus syriacus_ L. & Malvaceae & Shrub & Plurireg & NPh & Mi \\ _Indigofen gerardiana_ Graham ex Baker & Fabaceae & Herb & Unireg & NPh & N \\ _Indigofen heterantha_ Wall. ex Brandis & Fabaceae & Herb & Unireg & NPh & L \\ _Isodon rugosus_ (Wall. ex Benth.) Codd. & Lamiaceae & Herb & Unireg & NPh & Mi \\ _Iustica adutahda_ L. & Lamiaceae & Herb & Plurireg & NPh & Me \\ _Lamin album_ L. & Lamiaceae & Herb & Unireg & Th & Mi \\ _Lespedeza junca_ (L. f.) Pers. & Fabaceae & Herb & Unireg & H & N \\ _Lotus corriculatus_ L. & Fabaceae & Herb & Bireg & H & Mi \\ _Malva neglecta_ Wallr. & Malvaceae & Herb & Unireg & H & Mi \\ _Medicago lupulina_ L. & Fabaceae & Herb & Plurireg & Ch & N \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: List of the plant species with the family names, growth form/habit, chorotype, life-form, and leaf size classes that were recorded in understory vegetation of oak-dominated forests of Swat, Pakistan. The present study identified seven different life-form classes in the study area (Figure 2).