Floristic analysis of Medicinal Plants from the Sholas of Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

Medicinal plant documentation is a wide field of research to identify the chronicle of indigenous knowledge about plant its usage and scientifically validating the valuable species. Several field trips were carried out in Nilgiri hills between September 2021 – January 2022, covering different seasons, in order to know the phenology of the plants, Intensive and extensive field surveys was done in and around villages in Coonoor and Ooty. A total of 42 plant species belonging to 28 families and 31 genera. The majority of the documented plants were climber (13), tree (9), herb (7), shrub (6) and twiner (1). The part of the plant most frequently used was the fruit (22) followed by leaves (13), root (3), tuber (2), rhizome and bark (1). The main uses of the herbal drug have been reported to have several medicinal importance such as anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumour, gastric ulcer, skin disease, cancer, alzhimer disease, parkinsons, anti-hypertensive, hypolipidemic, antifungal, arthritis, rheumatism, lumbago, anti-asmatic, diuretic, anti-septic, anti- analgesic, anti-proliferative, sedative, anti-microbial, antipyretic, anthelmintic. During this survey documentation of medicinal plants seems to be identified to have high medicinal importance. Cayratia pedata, Fragaria nilgerrensis, Syzygium densiflorum and Syzygium grande are some of the very commonly used medicinal plants. There is a need to document the threats which increase biotic interference and climatic change there is an urgent need to create awareness among the local people for the sustainable utilization as well as conservation of these medicinal plants in their original habitat.
 Keywords: Documentation, Nilgiris, Medicinal Plants, Utilization