Vascular Plant Diversity and Ethnobotanical Study of Medicinal and Wild Edible Plants in Jibat, Gedo and Chilimo Forests, West Shewa Zone of Oromia Region, Ethiopia
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Date
2016-04
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Addis Ababa Universty
Abstract
This study was undertaken in Jibat, Chelia and Dendi districts, Central Ethiopia, in order to investigate
the floristic composition and vascular plant diversity of Jibat, Chilimo and Gedo forests and
ethnobotanical knowledge of medicinal and wild edible plants used by the Oromo communities in the
area. The resulting data are expected to contribute to the conservation of the fast-eroding plant resources
and the preservation of the associated ethnobotanical knowledge of the study area. Vegetation data were
collected from a total of 457 relevés sampled preferentially using a square plot of 400 m2 (20 m x 20 m)
for woody plants and subplots of 2 m x 2 m at the four corners and the centr e of the large relevé laid to
collect the samples of herbaceous species. Woody species with a diameter at breast height (DBH) > 2 cm
were counted and cover abundance values estimated. Agglomerative hierarchical classification in R
package version R 2.12.5 software, was used to identify plant communities and synoptic values ≥1 for
identification of the dominant species for naming plant communities. Shannon-Wiener diversity index
was used to assess species richness and evenness. Ethnobotanical data were collected by interviewing 838
informants (512 males and 269 females). Quantitative approaches were used to determine informant
consensus factor (ICF) and fidelity level (FL) values. Ethnomedicinal knowledge held by different
informant categories was compared using One-way ANOVA and t-tests in SPSS version 20 and
MINITAB Release 14.3.0 statistical package. A total of 415 plant species belonging to 312 genera and
104 families were documented from the study area of which 320, 290 and 241 were from Jibat, Gedo and
Chilimo forest stands respectively. A total of 18 plant communities were identified from the vegetation
survey. Furthermore, 172 ethnomedicinal plant species belonging to 155 genera and 73 families were
documented that are used to treat 86 human ailments reported grouped under 13 major disease categories.
Similarly, 97 ethnoveterinary plant species categorized under 94 genera and 56 families reported to treat
44 livestock ailments were documented and a total of 71 wild edible plants belonging to 58 genera and 33
families were reported to be gathered and consumed in the study area. Herbs (ca. 232) were the dominant
plant growth forms followed by shrubs (ca.94) and trees (ca. 74) among the vascular plants documented
from the area. Asteraceae (68 species in 42 genera) and Fabaceae (26 species in 21 genera) were the most
taxonomically diverse families followed by Lamiaceae and Poaceae with 19 genera each and 26 species
and 24 species respectively in the study area. A total of 43 endemic plants were documented in this study
of which one species, Kniphofia hildebrandtii is critically endangered. Leaves (36.6%) followed by roots
(19.98%) and seeds (10.34%) were the most consumed ethnomedicinal plant parts in remedy preparation.
Most remedies were prepared from fresh plant materials (66.48%), mostly prepared and applied by
boiling and drinking the decoction upon cooling (117 citations, 13.88%) followed by drinking the
concoction (49 citation, 13.35%). Oral application (220 preparations, 59.94%) was the commonly used
route of administration followed by topical or dermal application (95 preparations, 25.88%). Amoebiasis,
constipation and diarrhoea were the most commonly reported health problems under the gastrointestinal,
pharyngeal and parasitic (GIPP), whereas atopic eczema and dandruff were the most frequently reported under the dermatological and subcutaneous
tissues (DST) disease group. The categories with the highest informant consensus factor (ICF) values,
GIPP (0.70 for Dendi, 0.67 for Chelia and 0.69 for Jibat districts) followed by respiratory (0.64 for
Chelia) and DST (0.64 and 0.63 for Jibat and Dendi respectively.The highest fidelity level (FL) (95%)
was recorded for Hagenia abyssinica in Jibat District. Zingiber officinale and Jasminium abyssinicum
were reported to have highest FL values in Chelia District (95% each). In Dendi District, Zingiber
officinale, Bothriocline schimperi, Zehneria scabra, Clerodendrum myricoides, Ocimum lamiifolium and
Acokanthera schimperi with FL values of 95% each, had the highest FL. In the study area, the highest
ICF value was recorded for disease categories dermatological and sensorial problems (0.80) followed by
septicaemic problems (0.68) and wound, external injury and animal bite (0.66) in the case of
ethnoveterinary medicine. The reports indicate a high incidence of these types of diseases in the study
area, possibly due to the poor socio-economic and sanitary conditions of the people. Preference ranking
indicated that Lactuca inermis, Coffea arabica and Brucea antidysernterica were the most preferred
species to treat diarrhea in Jibat District and Dodonaea angustifolia, Justicia schimperiana and Arisaema
enneaphyllum were the most preferred species used against atopic eczema in Chelia and Carissa
spinarum, Acanthus sennii and Otostegia integrifolia were the most preferred species to treat rheumatism
in Dendi. Knowledge associated with use of medicinal plants is generally kept secret and is transferred
orally. Age, literacy level, distance from health centre and experience of informants had statistically
significant influence on ethnobatanical knowledge of medicinal and wild edible plants (P < 0.05),
whereas, marital status and gender did not exert statistically significant difference (P >0.05) regarding
their ethnobatanical knowledge. Moraceae and Asteraceae were among the most commonly consumed
families with five and four edible taxa respectively. Women and children were the main gatherers of
WEPs. The majority of the useful plants were collected from wild source and storage practice was
minimal in the study area. The output of the direct matrix ranking revealed that Prunus africana was
ranked first (the most threatened) followed by Hagenia abyssinica and Olinia rochetiana which are
multipurpose species in Jibat District. Similarly, Prunus africana was ranked first (most threatened)
followed by Olea europaea subsp. cuspidata and Podocarpus falcatus in Chelia District; and Juniperus
procera was ranked first (the most threatened) followed by Prunus africana and Hagenia abyssinica in
Dendi District are reported to be the most threatened multipurpose species. Agricultural expansion, overstocking/
grazing and fuel wood collection were found to be the most threatening factors to plant resources
in the study area. The study area is endowed with rich flora in general and medicinal and wild edible
plants and associated knowledge in particular, yet under great pressure due to anthropogenic and natural
factors. Thus, it is recommended that forestry departments of the federal, regional and local governments
take strong and urgent conservation actions and strategies to safeguard these valuable resources before
they have gone forever. In this, each level would need to mobilize the local people to be actively involved
in sustainable forest resource management.
Keywords: Medicinal Plants, Chelia, Dendi, Jibat, Wild edible plants, Informant Consensus, Fidelity
Level
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Keywords
Medicinal Plants, Chelia, Dendi, Jibat, Wild edible plants, Informant Consensus, Fidelity Level