TITLE:
Floristic Diversity and Ethnobotanical Uses of Vedhagiri Hills in Bhavani, Erode District, Tamil Nadu
AUTHORS:
Saranya Ravi, Rajendran Arumugam, Sarvalingam Ariyan
KEYWORDS:
Angiosperms, Assessment, Eastern Ghats, Ethno Botanical, Floristic Diversity
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.3 No.1,
January
8,
2016
ABSTRACT: Background: The present study was undertaken to enumerate the floristic composition
of Veddhagiri hills, the Southern Western Ghats of Erode district. It becomes essential
to analyze the diversity statically to find out the distribution of plants species
in various families. Material and Methods: Several field trips were made from September
2013 to March 2014, covering different seasons, in order to know the phenology of
the plants. Results: A total number of 135-species under 40-families with 103-genera
were collected from the Angiosperms. Among the Angiosperms, Dicotyledons comprise
120-species under 69-genera and 36-families and the Monocotyledons comprise 15-species
belonging to 14-genera and 4-families. On the basis of the habit, the plants have
been grouped into trees, shrubs, herbs and climbers. Herbs are more dominated with
50 species, followed by Shrub 31 species, Climber 18 species, Tree 24 species and
Grasses 12 species. Some of the plants were used by rural people in many different
ways. The principle uses were medicinal, cultural/religious, food, timber and other
household purposes. Conclusion: Natural forest areas are shrinking at an alarming
rate due to high anthropogenic pressure and climatic change. The need of the hour
is to conserve the fragmented repositories of natural forests in this region by
implementing stringent conservation methods.