Floristics and indigenous knowledge of agro-climatically diverse Sacred groves of central Kerala

Abstract

The study aimed to identify and document indigenous knowledge about medicinal plants in the selected sacred groves of central Kerala using the typical ethnobotanical approach and record the information. A pre-structured questionnaire survey and quantitative analysis were carried out to record the medicinal plants and to determine the ailments categories. In this study, 141 species belonging to 129 genera and 63 families were recorded from the highland sacred grove Amaran Kavu, and 198 species belonging to 176 genera and 75 families were recorded from the lowland grove Nagampoozhimana Kavu. Habit-wise analysis of the flora showed that trees are the dominant forms (37.58%) in the highland hilly grove, while herbs dominate (36.86%) in the coastal grove. The ethno-floristic survey revealed a total of 102 species of medicinal plants belonging to 90 genera and 50 families. The significance of the plant species was quantified by using family use value, use value index, and informant consensus factor. The highest family use value index (FUV) was reported in the families Piperaceae, Caesalpiniaceae, Combretaceae, etc. and the maximum Use Value (1) was reported in Curcuma longa L. and Ocimum basilicum L., which are the high use valued species among the community and Use Value Index (UVI) ranges from 0.05-1. The Informant Consensus Factor (ICF) value ranged from 0.93 to 0 and the greatest value (0.93) was obtained for postnatal care, earache (0.92), migraine, and headache (0.9). The present study reveals that the indigenous people living around the sacred groves depend on the plant species for their health care. However, proper management is required for the conservation of sacred groves through sustainable utilization of medicinal plants occurring in the groves.