Abstract

DOCUMENTATION OF TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE ABOUT USES OF MEDICINAL PLANTS FOUND IN PACHAIMALAI HILLS TRICHY DISTRICT, TAMILNADU, INDIA

*Karthikeyan, Baskaran & Sebastian Rajasekaran

Abstract

Pachaimalai hills are diverse for different medicinal plant species. Pachaimalai hills are the protected area of Eastern Ghats of India with 527.6 Sq km located in Tamilnadu region. The hills are named for the pachaimalai people who live in the region. Plants of this region have inordinate medicinal importance and native communities have been utilizing local flora for medicinal purposes over generations. Information about medically important plants is available sporadically with local people. A total of 100 plant species (trees, herbs and shrubs) of 47 families were evidence to be used for medicinal purposes by the local inhabitants. More than 120 local tribal people, senior citizens and farmers were interviewed for this purpose. Hopefully this kind of information will also generated wide interest in protecting and preserving diversity of plant species with medicinal importance. Due to the death of old people and change of trends, the valuable traditional medicinal knowledge is depleting from minds. This study could be helpful in conservation prospective of medicinally important plant species of pachamalai and traditional knowledge about their uses.

Keywords: Pachaimalai Flora, medicinal plant, traditional plant, ethno medicinal.