Utilization Pattern and Conservation Status of Plant Resources of Makawanpur District,Central Nepal
Date
2014
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Institute of Science and Technology, Botany
Abstract
The study is focused to document angiospermic flora, utilization pattern of useful
plant resources and assess in situ conservation status of selected useful plants. Freelisting
and semi-structured
interviews
applied to document
traditional knowledge
(TK)
on medicinal
plants, wild edible plants
and their uses among respondents from
Bankaria,
Newar
and Tamang
ethnic groups. Smith's
salience index (SI),
informant
consensus
factor (ICF) or informant
agreement
ratio (IAR),
relative frequency of
citation
(RFC), and cultural
importance
index
(CI) were
used
to compare
cultural
salience
of plants. Altogether,
695 species belonging
to 472
genera and
124 families
of angiospermic plants were collected from the study area. Leguminosae was the
dominant family with 60 species and Compositae was the second largest family.
Merremia hirta (Linn.) Merr., a species belonging to Convolvulaceae was collected as
new addition to the flora of Nepal. A total of 189 medicinal plants, 97 wild vegetables
and 65 wild fruits and nuts were documented, of which, 12 medicinal plants were
found to be new method of use for the treatment of diseases. Two wild vegetables
were found new addition for useful plants of Nepal. Tamang and Bankaria ethnic
groups have better knowledge of utilization of medicinal and wild edible plants than
the Newar ethnic group. Highest RFC and CI values were found for Urtica dioica,
Swertia chirayita, Bergenia ciliata, and Centella asiatica, while SI values were
highest for Terminalia alata, Phyllanthus emblica and Astilbe rivularis. The ICF
values highlighted that the medicinal plants were commonly used for treating
digestive system, infections/infestations and pregnancy/birth disorders. Similarly,
Diplazium esculentum, Dryopteris cochleata, Tectaria coadunata, Amaranthus
lividus, and Dioscorea hamiltonii are the most commonly used wild vegetables;
whereas Myrica esculenta, Rubus ellipticus, Aegle marmelos, Choerospondias
axillaris, and Diploknema butyracea are commonly used wild fruits. Based on rapid
vulnerability assessment (RVA), 12 species such as Bergenia ciliata, Dioscorea
deltoidea, Asparagus racemosus, Paris polyphylla, Podophyllum hexandrum,
Aconitum spicatum, Didymocarpus pedicillatus, Aconitum laciniatum, Astilbe
rivularis, Cucurligo orchioides, Rauvolfia serpentia, and Swertia chirayita were
vii
found to be highly vulnerable medicinal plants. This study contributes to the
documentation of utilization pattern and conservation status of useful plant resources
of Makawanpur district. The useful plant resources play a significant role in the
medicine, income generation and nutrition of local communities. However, more
research is needed in pharmacological screening and nutritional values of less known
medicinal and edible plants for value addition.
Description
Keywords
Medicinal plants, Wild fruits, Wild vegetables