ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDY IN KHAS COMMUNITY OF RAMAROSHAN RURAL MUNICIPALITY, ACHHAM, WESTERN NEPAL

Abstract

Ramaroshan Rural Municipality of Achham district lies in the Sudur Paschim Province in West Nepal. This area is rich in biodiversity. The present study includes documentation of ethnobotanically useful plant species found in this area. Different plant specimens were prepared during field visit. Quantitative parameters like Informant Consensus Factor (ICF), Frequency Index (FI), and Used Values (UV) were used during ethnobotanical analysis to find out the important uses of plant species in the study area. A total number of 156 plants belonging to 75 families were recorded from the study area. The grass family (Poaceae) was the most dominant family while the tobacco family (Solanaceae) was the least one. Among the different use categories, 56% of plants were used for single uses and 44% of plants were used for multiple uses. The highest ICF value was obtained for anticancer and antidote use while least ICF value was obtained for skeleton- muscular and cardiovascular disorders. Among 42 species in medicinal category, the frequency index showed that Hymenidium dentatum, Neopicororhiza scrophulariiflora and Hippolytia dolichophylla were most used plant species having a high frequency index. 89% were considered to have a high use value, 7% a moderate value, and 4% a low use value. Among them, highest value for Spinacia oleracea (2.5), and Acorus calamus (2.35), and moderate value for Ficus religiosa (1.87), and Cuscuta reflexa (1.85) and the least use value (1) was known for 103 species such as Aconitum lethale, Zingiber officinale, and so on.