Project No. : OR-01/2006-07
Year. : 2006-07
Project Title: Inventory of medicinal flora and indegenous phytotherapies of tribal rich including germplasm conservation of a few rare. Endangered and threatened species.
State:
Theme:
Plant species:
Principal Investigator & Organization : Dr. N.K.Dhal, Regional Research Laboratory (CSIR), Bhubaneswar - 751 013
Status:
Summary of Project / Major Outcome /Achievements : Systematic surveys were undertaken in different forest ranges for a period of more than three years. The field trips were organized in such a way so as to cover all the areas of the district at regular intervals in different seasons. The collected plant specimens have been preserved in the herbarium (RRL-B) of Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar. A total of 1296 plan specimens are collected of which 742 species belonging to 498 genera and 147 families were identified. Out of these 724 species are angiosperms (589 Species of dicot and 135 species of monocot), 16 fern species (belongs to 13 genera and families) and two gymnosperm species were collected. The total number of herb, shrub, tree and climber species is estimated to be 419, 110, 147 and 66 respectively. The ratio of dicot to monocot families’ genera and species are 4.7:1, 4.07:1 and 4.39:1. Out of total 147 families, the ten dominant families in descending order are Fabaceae (61 sp.), Poaceae (44 sp.), Asteraceae (37 sp.), Euphorbiaceae (32 sp.), Acanthaceae (32 sp.), Rubiaceae (30 sp.), Cyperaceae (28 sp.), Malvaceae (19 sp.), Caesalpiniaceae (20 sp.) and Lamiaceae (18 sp.). An Orchid sp. Zeuxine longilabris and another dicot sp. Anisomeles indica var. mollissima (Lamiaceae) collected from the Chitrakonda and Mudulipada (Bonda Hills) respectively are two new records to the flora of the state. Out of 41 identified medicinal plant species as (RET) covering the entire state, 11 species were located in the study area thus indicating the rich biodiversity granaries. Few like Rauwolfia serpentine, Litsea glutinosa, Gloriosa superba, Pterocarpus marsupium, Saraca asoca, Asparagus racemosus, Plumbago indica, Plumbago zeylanica, Gymnema sylvestre, Sterospermum chelonoides were conserved in IMMT Research garden. The 58 ethnobotanical data inventorized from the tribes Gadaba and Koya are found to be interesting and are of high importance. These may provide some vital dues on further investigation for future drug development programme. Documentation of medicinally important species indicates a vast repository of herbal crude drugs. Extensive ethnobotanical exploration is required to establish it as a Herbal crude drug centre creating ample scope for earning revenue. The report contains 159 pages, three tables, one map and one figure.
