Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine BioMed Central

Research Open Access Aboriginal uses and management of ethnobotanical species in deciduous forests of state in Chandra Prakash Kala

Address: Ecosystem & Environment Management, Indian Institute of Forest Management, P.B. No. 357, Nehru Nagar, Bhopal – 462 003, , India Email: Chandra Prakash Kala - [email protected]

Published: 4 August 2009 Received: 24 November 2008 Accepted: 4 August 2009 Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:20 doi:10.1186/1746-4269-5-20 This article is available from: http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/20 © 2009 Kala; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract A study on the native uses of ethnobotanical species was carried out in the south Surguja district of Chhattisgarh state in India with the major objective of identifying different food and medicinal plant species and also to understand their ongoing management and conservation. Through questionnaire and personal interviews, a total of 73 ethnobotanical species used by tribal and non- tribal communities were documented, of these 36 species were used in curing different types of diseases and 22 were used as edible food plants. This rich traditional knowledge of local people has an immense potential for pharmacological studies. The outside forces, at present, were mainly blamed to change the traditional system of harvesting and management of ethnobotanical species. The destructive harvesting practices have damaged the existing populations of many ethnobotanical species viz., Asparagus racemosus, Dioscorea bulbifera, Boswellia serrata, Buchnania lanzan, Sterculia urens and Anogeissus latifolia. The sustainable harvesting and management issues of ethnobotanical species are discussed in view of their conservation and management.

Background Over the years of trial and errors, they have accumulated a The Chhattisgarh state of India is one of the best repre- great deal of knowledge on the utility of surrounding bio- sentatives of the Deccan Peninsular bio-geographic zone diversity. This traditionally occupied knowledge is trans- that obtains rich deciduous forests. About mitted by oral means and is mostly acquired through 44% geographical area of Chhattisgarh state is under var- learning-by-doing approaches [1-5]. ious types of forests with rich plant diversity, of these many species are of ethnobotanical importance. In order The plant based resources form a large share on which to conserve and maintain the natural populations of these rural communities depend for food and medicines [6]. ethnobotanical species as well as to meet their require- Besides, the surrounding forest resources are used for for- ments, the Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce Co- age, construction of dwellings, making household and operative Federation has been established, which deals agricultural implements, dyes, and for fire, shade, gums, with various conservation, development and livelihood fibers etc. Generally, the traditional knowledge on the use issues at state level. A large number of hunter-gatherer of plant resources is dwindling due to several reasons societies live in the forests of Chhattisgarh from historical including shift in attitude towards a more western lifestyle times, and these tribal and non-tribal groups meet their and declining interest of younger generations to carry for- daily requirements from the surrounding forest resources. ward the tradition. The traditionally occupied ethnobo- About 44 tribal communities live in Chhattisgarh state. tanical knowledge is mostly, at present, restricted to far-

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flung areas away from invasion of modern cultural forces cured by the use of plant species. Cross-checking of data [7]. The rural area in Surguja district of Chhattisgarh state was made with the help of group discussions among dif- is inhabited by many tribal groups [2], which possess a ferent age classes of tribal and non-tribal villagers that great deal of knowledge on the various plant resources. include both the genders of the society. The participant Therefore, the present study was undertaken in the south- observation method was also employed to understand the ern part of Surguja district with the major objective of methods and techniques adopted by tribal to use plant assessing the indigenous knowledge of rural tribal com- and plant parts. The surrounding forested area and agri- munities associated with the ethnobotanical species. cultural land of villagers were also surveyed with local Attempts were also made to understand the harvesting youths and knowledgeable elders for the identification of practices and management of ethnobotanical species. various ethnobotanical species and their indigenous uses. The nomenclature and botanical identity of the plant spe- Methodology cies follows Witt [1], Haines [13], Roy et al. [14] and Pan- Study area igrahi and Murti [15]. The Surguja district lies in the north of Chhattisgarh state in India between 23° 37' 25" to 24° 6' 17" north latitude Results and discussion and 81° 34' 40" to 84° 4' 40" east longitude. The states of The present investigations have recorded 73 ethnobotani- Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh cal species used by tribal and non-tribal communities in encircle Surguja district, and the Vindhyachal- southern part of Surguja district of Chhattisgarh state in Baghelkhand region of peninsular India overlaps the India (Table 1). The recorded ethnobotanical species were southeastern part of the Surguja. Ambikapur is the dis- distributed over various life forms, of which 35 were tree trict's headquarter. The forests are dry deciduous type and species, 13 were herbs, 10 were shrubs, 9 were woody primarily dominated by Shorea robusta. Madhuca indica, climber, and 3 each were grass and climber species, Anogeissus latifolia and Semecarpus anacardium are the respectively (Figure 1). In terms of number of ethnobo- major companion species of Shorea robusta found in these tanical species, Leguminoceae was the most dominant forests. family, though, 37 plant families have their presence in the study area. These ethnobotancial species had diverse Mythologically, the Lord Rama had visited Surguja during uses viz., medicine, beverages, vegetables, tonic, fish poi- his 14 years of exile into the forests. Many places of Sur- son, mosquito repellent and as dying clothes. Of the total guja viz., Ramgarh, Sita-Bhengra and Laxmangarh have ethnobotanical species, the highest numbers of plant spe- been associated with the epic Ramayana and named after cies (n = 36) were used in curing different types of dis- the Lord Rama, Laxmana and Goddess Sita. Surguja is one eases, followed by wild edible plants (n = 22). Of the of the important tribal regions of Chhattisgarh. The major remaining ethnobotanical species, 5 plant species were ethnic groups in the study area were Gond, Majhwar and used as tonic, 4 as dye yielding plant, 2 for preparing bev- Baiga. Yadav, Urawoo, Dash and Chauhan were among erages, 5 as fish poison, and one plant species was exclu- the other rural communities in the region. Apart from for- sively used as mosquito repellent. est resource collection, the villagers practice agriculture and raise some crops, such as, paddy and maize. Compar- Medicinal Plants atively, agriculture is practiced largely by the Gond tribe The total documented medicinal plant species were dis- and livestock raring is practiced by Yadav. tributed over 26 families and have occupied various life forms, of which 14 were herbaceous species (3 climbers, 1 Ethnobotanical exploration grass and 10 forbs), 13 were tree species, 6 were woody Literature survey carried out on the ethnobotanical inves- climber species and 3 were shrub species (Table 1). Com- tigations reveals that there is almost no study available so bretaceae and Liliaceae had the highest number of species far in the south Surguja region, however, some sporadic used in curing diseases. Different plant parts of these spe- studies are available in the adjacent areas and districts cies, such as, root, tuber, leaf, fruit, bark, resin, seed and [2,8-12]. Hence, the field surveys in tribal villages of south latex were used as medicine. In majority of cases, root (14 Surguja district of Chhattisgarh covering Kete, Ghatbarra, species) was used for preparing medicine, followed by Parsa, Tara, Pendrakhi, Parogia, Hariharpur, Shivnagar, fruit (7 species) and bark (5 species). More than one plant Fatepur and Bhandargaun were undertaken during July to parts of 4 plant species viz., Garura pinnata Roxb., Heli- September 2008 for gathering data on the uses of various cterus isora L., Holarrhena antidysenterica Wall. and Ficus plant species. During the survey period, information was bengalensis L. were used as medicine. Cough, bodyache, also gathered using semi-structured questionnaires on dysentery, cut-wounds, scorpion bite, snake bite, muscu- plant parts used for food, medicine, vegetable, fibers, lar pain, and indigestion were among the ailments cured dyes, gums, agricultural implements and types of ailments by using these plant species.

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cine. All three species viz., Terminalia arjuna, Terminalia bellerica and Phyllanthus emblica of important Ayurvedic medicine 'Triphala' were available and used by local peo- ple in the study area.

Wild edible plants Wild edible plants were one of the prime sources of liveli- hood to the rural communities of Surguja district. Various plant parts viz., fruit, leaf, flower, tuber, rhizome, root and seed were source of food to the residents of the study area. Of total 22 wild edible plant species, fruits of highest number of plant species (n = 13) were eaten as raw or after cooking by the local people. The fruits of Carissa spinarum DC., Cordia mixa L., Phyllanthus emblica L., Punica grana- tum L., Diospyrus melanoxylon Roxb., and Flacourtia indica (Burm. f.) Merr were consumed as food by the local peo- ple. The wild plants were also used as vegetables and the leaves and flowers of 7 plant species viz., Antidesma dian- drum Roth., Ficus infectoria Roxb., and Indigofera pulchella Roxb. were eaten as vegetables after cooking. The roots and tubers of 3 species including Derris scandens Benth., and Dioscorea bulbifera L., were also used as food plants by the local people. DistributionformsFigure in 1 the ofstudy ethno-botanical area species across various life Distribution of ethno-botanical species across various Other ethnobotanical species life forms in the study area. Apart from food and medicine, the consumption of locally made beverages was a common practice of most of the villagers in the study area. Majority of households Many species of snakes including cobra were found in the used fruits and flowers of Madhuca indica for preparing study area, and snakebite was one of the frequent prob- liquor. Apart from Madhuca indica, some wild plant spe- lems. In case of snakebite, the person was treated by some cies, such as, Acacia arabica Willd. was used in preparing specialized expert, who used some plant species and also beverages. Fishing was another source of livelihoods, and chanted some spiritual words while curing snakebite. for this purpose they had discovered many plant species as Diospyrus melanoxylon Roxb., Elaeodendron glaucum Pers., a fish poison, which they spread in the ponds after crush- and Garura pinnata were some of the important plant spe- ing to powder. Acacia caesia W. et. A., Chloroxylon swietenia, cies used for curing snakebite. Similarly, the scorpion bite Costus speciosus (Koen.) Sm., Ougenia dalbergioides Benth., was treated by using the leaf paste of Achyranthus aspera L., and Randia dumatorum Lamk., were used as fish poison by and tuber of Urginea indica Kunth. The Surguja district is a the local people. mosquito prone area, and death by malarial fever is a common phenomena. The local people spend most of the The tribal people in Chhattisgarh have rich plant-based time in the forest for rearing of their livestock, collection ethno-veterinary knowledge. About 17 species of plants of fuelwood, fodder, medicinal and edible plants. To keep used as ethno-veterinary drugs are reported from nearby mosquito away from their body, they rubbed leaves of districts of the study area by Shukla et al. [10]. Besides, the Chloroxylon swietenia DC. on the exposed body parts and local people have also occupied knowledge on the dye also put its twigs on the head and back. yielding plants for extraction of multiple colours. The bark of Bauhinia variegata L. and Symplocos racemosa Roxb. The study area harboured several important medicinal was used to extract colours for dyeing cloths. The flower of plants used in Ayurvedic medicine. Terminalia arjuna Woodfordia floribunda Salisb. was used for preparing red Bedd., Terminalia bellerica Roxb., Terminalia chebula Retz., dye. A study conducted on dye yielding plants has Phyllanthus emblica L., Holarrhena antidysenterica Wall., reported that mostly bark is used for extraction of dyes, Hibiscus abelmoschus L., Gloriosa superba L., Dioscorea bulb- followed by leaves and flowers [16]. The natural dyes, as ifera L., Aegle marmelos Correa., Boswellia serrata Roxb., used by villagers, are eco-friendly and do not impinge Acorus calamus L. and Asparagus racemosus Willd. were negative impacts like synthetic dyes [17,18]. Encouraging among the prominent ingredients of the Ayurvedic medi- local people for establishing processing units of natural

Page 3 of 9 (page number not for citation purposes) Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:20 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/20 Table 1:Ethnobotanicalsp 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Sl. No . Baker Chlorophytum tuberosum Ceropegia bulbosa Celastrus peniculata Carissa spinarum Careya arborea Caesalpinia bonducella Uses monosperma Butea Buchanania lanzan serrata Boswellia Bombax malabaricum Bauhinia variegata Asparagus racemosus used Part Antidesma diandrum marmelos Aegle Habit calamus Acorus aspera Achyranthus Family caesia Acacia Name Local arabica Acacia Name Botanical .e.A oia,GrrMmsca od lme otFs osn- poison Fish Root Climber Woody Mimosaceae Garur Goriyar, W. et.A. Willd. Bambhur, Bamura Mimosaceae Tree Bark Liquor, Liquor, dy Bark Tree Mimosaceae Bamura Bambhur, Willd. Roxb. Kumahi, kumhi Myrtaceae Tree Leaf, fruit Edible Snake bite, fever [ bite,fever Snake Edible Leaf,fruit Tree Myrtaceae Kumahi, kumhi Roxb. .Bc crca ebRioeStomachache, Rhizome Herb Acoraceae Bach L. ora e uaeeTe ri yetr Medicine[ Dysentery Fruit Tree Rutaceae Bel Correa. ob aiaBreaeeTe ei rhii - Arthritis Resin Tree Burseraceae Saliha Roxb. DC. Kari Apocynaceae Shrub Fruit Edible Fruit – edible; Thorny branches – fencing fields [ fields –fencing branches Thorny edible; – Fruit Edible Fruit Shrub Apocynaceae Kari DC. ob oiaknh slpaaeeCibrTub Climber Asclepiadaceae Bosiya kandha Roxb. .Cap asliica reBr D Bark Tree Caesalpiniaceae Champa L. p.Ca ncrica reFut akCoug bark Fruit, Tree Anacardiaceae Char Spr. Lm. ab as euioeeSrbFlower, Shrub Leguminoceae Parsa Taub. (Lamk.) ecies used by local peop ecies used by .Gtia gaaAaataeeHr L Herb Amaranthaceae Gathiya,Aghada L. il.Uji eataeeWoyCibrSe uos- Tumors Seed Climber Woody Celastraceae Unjain Willd. oh aoi awtEpobaeeSrbLa eeal - Vegetable Leaf Shrub Euphorbiaceae Saroti, sarwat Roth. il.KriLlaeeHr otItra an uos oi Root –fever [ Internal pain,tumors, tonic Root Herb Liliaceae Kargi Willd. C ee,smlMlaeeTe lwrEil - Edible Flower Tree Malvaceae Semer, semal DC. lm aaa asliica od lme edTnc- Tonic Seed Climber Woody Caesalpiniaceae Gataran Flem. (Roxb.) (Roxb.) ae ul iica ebTbrSi iess oi Medicine [ Skin diseases, tonic Tuber Herb Liliaceae Safed musli le for variouspurposes a Diuretic,tonic, antidote for eaf er Tonic, aphrodisiac Tuber – edible [ edible – Tuber Tonic,aphrodisiac er gum, seed Diarrhea, leucorrhea, skin skin leucorrhea, Diarrhea, gum, seed diseases Present survey Secondary Secondary sourc Present survey insect and scorpion bite andscorpion insect ye Piles, dysentery, leprosy [ leprosy Piles, dysentery, ye h, skin diseases Bark – snake bite [ snake bite – Bark diseases skin h, e Bark – dye; Leaves and pod – fodder; Wood – Wood – fodder; – pod dye; Leavesand – Bark e anthelmentic Root – fever, cough [ cough –fever, Root anthelmentic Diarrhea, dysentery snake bite, piles [ bite,piles snake dysentery Diarrhea, [ implements agricultural [ fuelwood bite, liver disorder,and coldcough [ areas menstrual pain [ pain menstrual Shoot and leaf – scorpion bite [ scorpionbiteleaf – Shoot and 5 5 1 ]* – Wood dysentery; – ]*; Fruit ] 23 23 1 ]; Medicine[ ] 22 23 es on Surguja es on ] ] 11 ]; Medicine [ ]; Medicine [ Medicine ]; 1 22 ] ] 5 ]* 23 5 ] and adjoining ]* 23 5 22 ]*; Snake Snake ]*; ] ]; Stem – 1 ]

Page 4 of 9 (page number not for citation purposes) Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:20 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/20 Table 1:Ethnobotanicalsp 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 Flacourtia indica indica Flacourtia Ficus infectoria Ficus bengalensis Eugenia heyneana Elaeodendron glaucum colonum Echinochloa Diospyrus montana Diospyrus melanoxylon Dioscorea bulbifera Dioscorea pentagyna Dillenia scandens Derris strictus Dendrocalamus paniculata Delbergia latifolia Dalbergia Cynodon dactylon Curcuma angustifolia Costus speciosus Cordia mixa Cordia macleodii Cissus quadrangularis swietenia Chloroxylon pGtiknh/auaDocrca ebFutEil - Edible Fruit Herb Dioscoraceae Gethikandha/Karuha sp .Lsd oaiaeeTe ri dbe- Edible Fruit Tree Boraginaceae Lasoda L. ob ar,Pkr oaeeTe efVgtbe- Vegetable Leaf Tree Moraceae Pakri, Pakhri Roxb. et.Nkw adaLgmnca od lme otEil - Edible Root Climber Woody Leguminoceae Nakuwakandha Benth. Br.f)Mr.Rmaai ae iaeeSh Bixaceae Ramkatayi, kaker (Burm. f.) Merr. Ke. m eu a ad Zingibe haldi Kewu, ban Sm. (Koen.) .f h hha,Dha Boragina Dhahjar,Dahgan Th. H. f.& .GdnfrMrca reLtx akDsney- Dysentery bark Latex, Tree Moraceae Gadnifir L. ob iihLgmnca reTim Tree Leguminoceae Sirish Roxb. Pers. Doob Poaceae Grass Root Liver disorder, wounds To increase blood in the body [ body the in increase blood To wounds Liverdisorder, Root Grass Poaceae Doob Pers. Wall. Jamti Myrtaceae Tree Fruit Edible Fruit – edible [ edible – Fruit Edible Fruit Tree Myrtaceae Jamti Wall. ob ukt oktDleica reFutEil - Edible Fruit Tree Dilleniaceae Kurkut, korkut Roxb. L. Agitha Dioscoraceae Climber Tuber Edible Tuber – edible, famine food [ famine edible, – Tuber Edible Tuber Climber Dioscoraceae Agitha L. ob aa ed bnca reFutEil - Edible Fruit Tree Ebenaceae Makar tendu Roxb. ecies used by local peop ecies used by ob hbi,doi euioeeTe tmTme,frmkn or- door making for Timber, Stem Tree Leguminoceae dhobin Dhobnin, Roxb. L)Ln aa aaPaeeGasSe dbe- Edible Seed Grass Poaceae Sawa, sama (L.) Link Roxb. Tikhur Zingiberaceae Herb Rhizome Wounds Medicine [ Medicine Wounds Rhizome Herb Zingiberaceae Tikhur Roxb. C hra hrh eica Tre Meliaceae bharahi Bhirra, DC. .HtjdVtca lme Stem Climber Vitaceae Hathjod L. es ar,JmaiClsrca hu Root Shrub Celastraceae Mamri, Jamrasi Pers. Roxb. Tendu Ebenaceae Tree Root, fruit Snake bite, bite, Snake fruit Root, Tree Ebenaceae Tendu Roxb. esBn oca rs tmBse,mtContainer forkeeping tobacco, fishingnet[ Basket, mat Stem Grass Poaceae Bans Nees le for variouspurposes aeeHr hzm ihn Medicine [ Fishing Rhizome Herb raceae eeTe tmFurniture, agricultural Stem Tree ceae (Continued) rub Fruit Edible Root – skin diseases [ Root–skin Edible Fruit rub e Leaf Mosquito repellent; for repellent; Mosquito Leaf e e giutrlipeet - Agricultural implements ber Snake bite Wood – comb, picture frame picture [ – comb, Wood bite Snake implements fertility Antimicrobial, fracture, fishing fruit edible Fruit – edible; timber tree [ tree timber edible; – Fruit edible fruit cigarette) wrapper [ cigarette) Stem – furniture and agricultural implements [ implements agricultural and –furniture Stem Medicine [ [ implements agricultural – Wood [ 12 ]; Medicine[ 5 5 5 ]* ]* ]* 1 ] 5 ]* 21 22 ]; Wood – toy for children children –toyfor ]; Wood ] 1 ]; Leaf – Beedi (cheap Leaf –Beedi ]; 1 ] 1 11 ] 1 ] , 13 ] 12 1 ] ]

Page 5 of 9 (page number not for citation purposes) Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:20 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/20 Table 1:Ethnobotanicalsp 60 59 58 57 56 55 54 53 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 Semecarpus anacardium Ricinus communis Randia dumetorum Punica granatum marsupium Pterocarpus Phyllanthus emblica Phoenix acaulis Prain Peucedanum nagpurense Ougenia dalbergioides Murraya koenigii indica Mangifera Madhuca indica mauritiana Ipomoea pulchella Indigofera antidysenterica Holarrhena Hibiscus abelmoschus isora Helicterus Gloriosa superba Garura pinnata latifolia Gardenia Buch Chind Palmaceae Herb Fruit After childbirth, After Fruit Herb Palmaceae Chind Buch ob hnaa ea,Kna usrca reB Tree Burseraceae Khenkara, Kekad, Kenkar Roxb. L. Aaithi, marorphali Sterculiaceae Shrub Bark, fruit Colic, intestinal disorder, disorder, intestinal Colic, fruit Bark, Shrub Sterculiaceae marorphali Aaithi, L. mlMhw aoaeeTe Fruit, root, Tree Sapotaceae Mahuwa Gmel .Kah oi aiaiLlaeeHr otTmr- Tumor Root Herb Liliaceae godi, Kharha karihari L. .AmAaadaeeTe ri dbeBar - Edible Edible Leaf, fruit Fruit Shrub Tree Anacardiaceae Rutaceae Mithi neem Aam Spreng. L. .Aa yhaeeTe ri dbe- Edible Fruit Tree Lythraceae Anar L. i.Ppo,ppo,Ml uica reFutPrue- Perfume Fruit Tree Rubiaceae Mali piprol, Paprol, Ait. L. Arandi Euphorbiaceae Shrub Seed, root Dandruff, skindiseases, Dandruff, root Seed, Shrub Euphorbiaceae Arandi L. ak ed,MiflRbaeeTe ri ihpio Un poison Fish Fruit Tree Rubiaceae Mainfal Menda, Lamk. ob hlbui hru euioeeSrbFoe dbevgtbe- Edible vegetable Flower Shrub Leguminoceae Ghirhul Bhulbhuli, Roxb. L. Awala Euphorbiaceae Tree Fruit Edible Medicine [ Medicine Edible Fruit Tree Euphorbiaceae Awala L. ecies used by local peop ecies used by aq aa or ovluaeeWood Convolvulaceae Patal kohra Jacq. .Kpliaknh avca Her Malvaceae Kapalsiya kandha L. et.Snhn is euioeeTe Ste Tree Leguminoceae tilsa Sandhan, Benth. ob iaLgmnca reWo Timber, makingdoor for Wood Tree Leguminoceae Bija Roxb. L. Bhelwa Anacardiaceae Tree Fruit Edible, oil is massaged on oil Edible, ismassaged Fruit Tree Anacardiaceae Bhelwa L. (Cl.) al oiaAoyaeeTe Root, bark Tree Apocynaceae Koriya Wall. Tejraj Asteracease Herb Medicine Root –toincreasesemen[ Root Medicine Herb Asteracease Tejraj le for variouspurposes (Continued) otBodi rn Medicine [ urine Blood in Root b lme otDgsinMedicine [ Digestion Root y Climber flower, seed r,futSnakebite in water, wounds, ark,fruit ,br untr,itxct ih- fish intoxicate Furniture, bark m, gums, ulcers and diabetes and gums, ulcers use inbleeding Liquor; barks [ asthma – Bark dysentery Fever, makeused to rope fruit edible, pickle infected parts of the body the of parts infected epilepsy fruit edible Leaves – local umbrella [ –localumbrella Leaves edible fruit [ cots and cart bullock – Wood –fodder; Leaves bite[ scorpion bite, oil–snake Seeds Medicine [ [ cattle for fodder – Fruit for children [ children for - - 11 ripe fruit– ripe fish pois k – children bath for health [ for health bath children k – ]; Gum – toothache [ – toothache Gum ]; 5 5 5 5 ]* ]* ]* ]* 12 22 ] ] on; Bark – medicine* [ – medicine* on; Bark 12 23 11 11 ] ] ]; Bark- diabetes [ ] 11 ]; Wood –toy ]; Wood 23 ] 1 22 ] ]

Page 6 of 9 (page number not for citation purposes) Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 2009, 5:20 http://www.ethnobiomed.com/content/5/1/20 Table 1:Ethnobotanicalsp * Particular use is not mentioned. not useis * Particular 73 72 71 70 69 68 67 66 65 64 63 62 61 Zizyphus rugosa Woodfordia floribunda carnosa Vitis Ventilago madraspatana Vallaris heynei Urginea indica Thespesia lampus chebula Terminalia bellerica Terminalia Terminalia arjuna racemosa Symplocos Soymida fabrifuga Shorea robusta Wall. Dhokar bela Vitaceae Woody Climber Root Bodyache, drink Root and leaf – boils, tumor [ – boils, leaf and Root drink Bodyache, Root Climber Woody Vitaceae Dhokarbela Wall. Spr. Dudhiya kandha Apocynaceae Woody Cl Woody Apocynaceae kandha Dudhiya Spr. ut.Bnpa ycnhca ebTbrSopo ieMedicine[ bite Scorpion Tuber Herb Hyacinthaceae Banpyaz Kunth. arn a,sry Dipteroc Sal, sarayi Gaertn. ak hrbn hraRanca od lme hl oyce- Bodyache Whole Climber Woody Rhamnaceae Churna Churaban, Lamk. ed au,ajnCmrtca reBr Medic Bark Tree Combretaceae Kahua, arjun Bedd. az abni ud Malvaceae mundi Masbandi, Dalz. .Js.Rhn,rhnMlaeeTe akMsua an- pain Muscular Bark Tree Meliaceae rohan Rohina, A. Juss. Retz. Harra Combretaceae Tree Fruit Cough Fruit – cough, asthma, black dye black [ – cough, asthma, Fruit Cough Fruit Tree Combretaceae Harra Retz. Roxb. Baira Combretaceae Tree Fruit Cough Medicine [ Medicine Cough Fruit Tree Combretaceae Baira Roxb. ecies used by local peop ecies used by ob ohSmlcca reBr y Medicine[ Dye Bark Tree Symplocaceae Lodh Roxb. Salisb. Dhai, Dhawai Lythraceae Shrub Flower Red dye Medicine [ Medicine dye Red Flower Shrub Lythraceae Dhawai Dhai, Salisb. arn yni et hmaeeWoyCibrRoot Climber Woody Rhamnaceae Kyonti, Keoti Gaertn. le for variouspurposes raeeTe tm ei Tim Stem, resin Tree arpaceae (Continued) ebYugti ie;rp - Fiber;rope Young twig Herb imber Latex Lactating mother, cow, Lactatingmother, Latex imber bark Chocolate & red dye Bark Bark – ropefiber [ Chocolate & reddye bark buffalo spasm ber, resin for fire and fireand for ber, resin ine Bark – fever, high blood pressure [ pressure fever, highblood – Bark ine - [ Seed – edible oil [ oil edible – Seed 21 ]; Medicine[ 5 5 5 5 ]* ]* ]* ]* 5 ]*; Seeds – wounds [ wounds – Seeds ]*; 21 1 ] ]; Medicine [ ]; Medicine 1 ] 5 11 11 ]*; Timber [ ]; Indigestion Indigestion ]; ] 23 ] 1 ]

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dyes may serve the purpose of ecosystem and environ- they use to collect many ethnobotanical species for their ment management through avoiding the use of hazardous day-to-day activities. The wild medicinal and food plant synthetic products. species, as documented in the present study with the help of local people, may be screened and standardized as per Harvesting practices and management issues scientific norms for medicinal potency and nutritive val- Traditionally, the harvesting of ethnobotanically useful ues for their wider acceptability. The need of hour is to species was done by the communities for their own use or identify and disseminate the valuable information about nourishment. Now, the invasion of market forces has the important ethnobotanical species and knowledge for made to commercialize the important ethnobotanical the benefit of society and science. To mitigate the ongoing species that has changed the attitude of local people pressures on ethnobotanical species beyond their sustain- towards cash and high income generation. This has subse- able capacity, the local people may be educated on the quently led to the overexploitation of many important future consequences of nature resource over-exploitation ethnobotanical species. The traditional collection prac- process and environmental degradation. The forest dwell- tices of wild plants are no more viable to meet their ers may also be provided the sufficient resources for their increasing demand, at present. Due to faulty harvesting basic requirements. Many ethnobotanical species provide practices, such as, plucking of entire twigs in most of the food and medicine to the rural people [22,23]; therefore cases for gathering fruits, there has been 60% damage of such species may be protected through non-destructive Phyllanthus emblica's trees in the nearby district of Surguja way of harvesting. Rather than exporting important eth- namely Bilaspur [19]. The early harvesting of rhizomes of nobotanical species in raw forms, attempts should be Costus speciosus (Koen.) Sm. results in scanty seed forma- made at the village level to promote their processing and tion and thus creates problem for its regeneration. Seed value addition. Agro-techniques of demand driven ethno- collection practice of Celastrus peniculata Willd. has botanical species need to be developed and the useful tree affected the regeneration of this species in the wild [20]. species may be planted as agro-forestry species. Besides, Celastrus peniculata does not grow easily and thus there is the state Government and CSMFPCF may encourage agro- a difficulty in propagation and cultivation of this species forestry, farm forestry and on-farm cultivation of ethno- at large scale. botanically useful species.

Minor Forest Produce Co-Operative Federation Competing interests Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce Co-operative The author declares that they have no competing interests. Federation (CSMFPCF) is an apex organization dealing with state level policy formulation on conservation, col- Acknowledgements lection, value addition and marketing of non-wood forest I thank Director, Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal, produce. CSMFPCF is involved in the collection and sale India and Prof. Yogesh Dubey, Faculty, Ecosystem & Environment Manage- of the forest produce (i.e., Tendu leaves, Sal seed, Harra, ment, IIFM, Bhopal for support during the course of this study. During the Gums, etc.) with the help of 32 District Unions, 913 Pri- fieldwork, help extended by field-staff, especially Ramdhan, Syam Nath, and Sukh Nandan is greatly acknowledged. mary Forest Produce Co-operative Societies and 10,000 Collection Centres established across the state [21]. In References order to collect the forest produce, the area of collection is 1. Witt DO: Descriptive List of Trees, Shrubs, Climbers and divided into different units and sells through tenders and Economic Herbs of the Northern and Berar Forest Circles auctions by the Federation. The funds for various opera- Central Provinces. Allahabad: Pioneer Press; 1916. 2. Tirkey A: Some ethnobotanical plant species of Chhattisgarh tions are made available to Primary Societies through Dis- state. Ethnobotany 2004, 16:118-124. trict Unions. The forest produce is sold by the local 3. Kala CP: Indigenous uses, population density, and conserva- tion of threatened medicinal plants in protected areas of the people/collectors to the Primary Society at every collec- Indian . Conservation Biology 2005, 19(2):368-378. tion centre, which is responsible for transport and storage 4. Kala CP: Ethnobotany and ethnoconservation of Aegle marme- of forest produce in his godowns or the godowns of Forest los (L.) Correa. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge 2006, 5(4):537-540. Department/Federation. Primary Co-operative Societies 5. Kumar K: Working Plan of North Surguja, Ambikapur. Forest calculate the amount of profit earned by the trade of con- Department: Government of Chhattisgarh 2007. 6. Kala CP: Current status of medicinal plants used by tradi- cerned forest produce, of which 70% is provided to the tional Vaidyas in Uttaranchal state of India. Ethnobotany collectors as wage incentives, 15% of profit each to the vil- Research and Applications 2005, 3:267-278. lage resource development and development of forest/for- 7. Kala CP: Local preferences of ethnobotanical species in the Indian Himalaya: Implications for environmental conserva- est produce. tion. Current Science 2007, 93(12):1828-1834. 8. Brijlal : Ethnobotany of Baigas of Madhya Pradesh – A prelim- inary report. Arunachal Forest News 1993, 11(1):17-20. Conclusion 9. Verma P, Khan AA, Singh KK: Traditional phytotherapy among The livelihood of local people in south Surguja of Chhat- the Baiga tribe of Shahdol district of Madhya Pradesh, India. tisgarh is primarily depends on the forest resources, and Ethnobotany 1995, 7:69-73.

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10. Shukla AN, Singh KP, Kumar A: Ethnoveterinary uses of plants from Achanakmar – Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve of Mad- hya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Journal of Non-Timber Forest Prod- ucts 2007, 14(1):53-55. 11. Kumar V, Jain SK: A contribution to ethnobotany of Surguja district in Madhya Pradesh, India. Ethnobotany 1998, 10:89-96. 12. Kumar V: Some indigenous tools of Surguja district, Madhya Pradesh, India. Ethnobotany 1999, 11:135-137. 13. Haines HH: Descriptive list of trees, shrubs and economic herbs of the southern circle central provinces. Allahabad: Pio- neer Press; 1916. 14. Roy GP, Shukla BK, Datta B: Flora of Madhya Pradesh. New Delhi: Ashish Publishing House; 1992. 15. Panigrahi G, Murti SK: Flora of Bilaspur. Calcutta: Botanical Survey of India; 1989. 16. Tiwari SC, Bharat A: Natural dye yielding plants and indigenous knowledge of dye preparation in Achanakmar-Amarkantak Biosphere Reserve, Central India. Natural Product Radiance 1998, 7(1):82-87. 17. Kala CP: Indigenous knowledge of Bhotiya tribal community on wool dyeing and its present status in the Garhwal Hima- laya, India. Current Science 2002, 83(7):814-817. 18. Mahanta D, Tiwari SC: Natural dye-yielding plants and indige- nous knowledge on dye preparation in , northern India. Current Science 2005, 88(9):1474-1480. 19. Tiwari KP: Collection of Aonla (Emblica officinalis) fruits from forest – An impact assessment. Vaniki Sandesh 1995, XIX(4):1-5. 20. Ved DK, Kinhal GA, Ravikumar K, Karnat M, Vijay Sankar R, Indresha JH: Threat assessment and management prioritization for the medicinal plants of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. Bangalore: Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions; 2003. 21. Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce Co-operative Fed- eration Limited; Raipur, Chhattisgarh [http://www.cgm fpfed.org/forestproduce1.htm] 22. Jain SK, Sinha BK, Gupta RC: Notable plants in ethnomedicine of India. New Delhi, Deep Publications; 1991. 23. Rai R, Nath R: Use of medicinal plants by traditional herbal healers in Central India. Indian Forester 2005, 131(3):463-468.

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