A Study on the Ethnobotany of Medicinal Plants and Floristic Composition of the Dry Afromontane Forest at Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia By Haile Yineger A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Addis Ababa University, in partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Biology (Botanical Sciences) July 2005 Addis Ababa University School of Graduate Studies A Study on the Ethnobotany of Medicinal Plants and Floristic Composition of the Dry Afromontane Forest at Bale Mountains National Park, Ethiopia Haile Yineger Approved by the Examining Board Chairman, Department Graduate Committee ____________________________ ________________ Name Signature Research Advisor ____________________________ ________________ Research Advisor ____________________________ ________________ Examiner __________________________ _________________ Examiner __________________________ _________________ Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Drs. Ensermu Kelbessa and Tamrat Bekele who kindly advised, commented and helped me throughout the thesis work. I am grateful to Addis Ababa University, Department of Biology for arranging this program and enabling me to attend the program successfully. All the academic staff members of this department, particularly lecturers who taught me, are once again thanked for all sorts of advice and knowledge supplies. The staff members of the National Herbarium are also thanked for their kind cooperation while using herbarium materials. Traditional medicine practitioners of the study area are deeply recognized for their kind permission in sharing their yearly accumulated indigenous knowledge and showing plants of medical importance. I would also like to thank Ato Kebede Shibru, Ato Mebratie Alebel, Ato Addisu Assefa, Ato Abdurahman Wario, Ato Mudasir Aman, Ato Mohammed, and Ato Abdulmenan Abubeker for their fruitful roles as translators and field assistants during data collection. I am also grateful for the local administrators who were willing in selecting and coordinating traditional healers. The Bale Zone administration office is thanked for provision of land use and health status data for each of the districts considered. The National Meteorological Service Agency is the source of the climate data without which construction of the Climadiagram would have been impossible. Sister Tsehay Aytenew (from Robe Health Center) is truly thanked for translation of local names of diseases in to their medical terms. My endless thanks go to my father Megabi – Yineger Tariku and mother, Berhan Kassaneh, and brothers and sisters for their incredible efforts and contributions in helping and encouraging me from the start of my education up until this level. My deepest appreciation goes to my wife, Mulluberhan Baye, who encouraged and assisted me throughout this study. My best friend, Ato Ermias Lulekal who was all the time with me up until the end of this work is deeply acknowledged. I am also grateful to Ato Getachew Tadesse who gave me the TWINSPAN program and demonstrated how the program operates. Ato Medhane Asmelash is i also sincerely thanked for his willingness to give me SPSS 10.0 program. Lucy Tallents is deeply recognized for assisting me in constructing map of the study area. Ato Wudu Adege and Ato Desta Alemu have invaluable inputs to the thesis work without which completion of this work would have been impossible. I am indebted to Banchiayehu Mekonen for her willingness to help me in several aspects throughout this study. Wubit Tariku, Adanech Getie, Banchigize Getie, Leweye Getie, Emebet Kifle, Siyoum Assefa, Mesfin W/Aregay, Girma Andarge, Getachew Molla and Zigiju are also thanked for their moral encouragements. Gambella Teachers’ Education and Health Science College is greatly acknowledged for granting me a study leave. Last but not least, the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Medicinal Plants Project is genuinely thanked for provision of financial support. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements..........................................................................................................................i Table of Contents..........................................................................................................................iii List of Tables..................................................................................................................................vi List of Figures...............................................................................................................................vii List of Appendices.......................................................................................................................viii Abstract..........................................................................................................................................ix 1. Introduction..............................................................................................................................1 2. Objectives..................................................................................................................................5 2.1. General Objectives..............................................................................................................5 2.2. Specific Objectives..............................................................................................................5 3. Literature Review.....................................................................................................................6 3.1. Overview of the Ethiopian Vegetation................................................................................6 3.2. Ethnobotany and its Significance........................................................................................7 3.3. The Value of Medicinal Plants in Human Healthcare Needs.............................................9 3.4. Plants in Ethnoveterinary Medicine..................................................................................12 3.5. Traditional Medicinal Plants and Their Conservation......................................................13 3.6. Ethnomedicinal Research in Ethiopia...............................................................................14 4. Description of the Study Area...............................................................................................16 4.1. General Features and Location of the Study Area............................................................16 4.2. Geology and Soil...............................................................................................................17 4.3. Climate..............................................................................................................................17 4.4. Vegetation.........................................................................................................................18 iii 4.5. Human Population, Land Use and Status of Health Services...........................................19 5. Materials and Methods..........................................................................................................22 5.1. Site Selection....................................................................................................................22 5.2. Ethnomedicinal Data Collection.......................................................................................22 5.2.1. Informant Selection................................................................................................22 5.2.2. Semi-structured interview......................................................................................23 5.2.3. Field observation....................................................................................................24 5.2.4. Informant consensus...............................................................................................24 5.2.5. Direct matrix ranking.............................................................................................24 5.2.6. Preference ranking..................................................................................................25 5.3. Floristic Composition Data Collection.............................................................................25 5.3.1. Plot establishment...................................................................................................25 5.3.2. Vegetation data collection......................................................................................26 5.4. Plant Specimen Collection and Identification...................................................................27 5.5. Data Analysis ..................................................................................................................27 6. Results and Discussion...........................................................................................................29 6.1. Ethnomedicinal Plants Used by the Local People.............................................................29 6.1.1. Medicinal plants used to treat human diseases.......................................................35 6.1.1.1. Description of the most frequently reported medicinal plants used to treat only human ailments..................................................................................................38 6.1.2. Medicinal plants used to treat livestock health problems.......................................41 6.1.2.1. Description of the most frequently reported medicinal plants used to treat