Science Research Reporter, 6(1):28-43, (April - 2016) © RUT Printer and Publisher Online, Open Access Available at http://jsrr.net ISSN: 2249-2321 (Print); ISSN: 2249-7846 (Online) Research Article Inventorying Plant Diversity in the Homegardens of Kuzhicodu Village, Kanyakumari District, Tamilnadu, India P. Subitha1,2, S. Sukumaran1 and S. Jeeva2 1Department of Botany, Nesamony Memorial Christian College, Marthandam, Tamilnadu, India – 629 165. 2Department of Botany, Scott Christian College (Autonomous), Nagercoil, Tamilnadu, India – 629 003. Article Info Abstract Received: 21-08-2015, Species richness of plant species of the homegardens of Kuzhicodu village of Revised: 16-01-2016, Kanyakumari District, Tamilnadu was studied. A total of 485 plant species Accepted: 29-01-2016 belonging to347 genera and 105 families which included 253 herbs, 96 shrubs, 87 trees and 49 climbers.Of the 485 plant species, 101 families were Keywords: Angiosperms, 3 families were Gymnosperms (Araucariaceae, Cupressaceae, Homegardens, Kanyakumari, Cycadaceae) and a Pteridophyte belongs to the family Davalliaceae is also Kuzhicodu village, Plant reported.The dominant and co-dominant families were Poaceae (38 species) diversity, Tamilnadu. and Euphorbiaceae (34 species). The study reveals that the homegarden systems provide cash income, medicine, timber, fuelwood, and edibles for household consumption as well as for sale. The homegardens are the sites of conservation of plants both wild and domesticated, because of their uses to the households.These homegardens serve as asylum for many multipurpose plant species and harbor rich biodiversity. INTRODUCTION domestication of needy forms which may also be Homegarden is a bounded piece of land used directly within the household (Leiva et al., with a mixture of tended and cultivated plants on 2001). Homegardens represent microenvironments which a house is built. One of the important features within larger systems involving deliberated of homegarden is species diversity, their intimate management of multipurpose trees, shrubs, annual admixture of plants which includes herbs, shrubs, and perennial agriculture crops, herbs, spices, trees and perennials (Nair, 2006). Farming system medicinal plants and animals on the same land unit provides information about the traditional culture in either a spatial arrangement or a temporal and ecological knowledge of the local community sequence (Michon et al., 1986, Okafor and (Kumar and Nair, 2004; Tanjang and Arunachalam, Fernandes, 1987; Padoch and Jong, 1991). These 2009). In addition, integrated farming system gardens are important sources of income in many produces a variety of foods and agricultural countries around theworld and they maintain crop products including staple crops, vegetables, fruits, and agroforestry genetic resources, which may not medicinal plants and so on (Polegri and Negri, be found in more extensive agroecosystems. The 2010; Bajpai et al., 2013). major functions of homegardens; especially in rural These gardens are often utilized as testing areas are subsistence production and income plots for new crops, as nurseries for plantlets later generation (Soemarwoto and Conway, 1992). destined for planting in open fields and as sites for Because of high diversity in homegardens, a wide http://jsrr.net 28 ISSN: 2249-7846 (Online) P. Subitha et al., range of products can be produced with relatively MATERIALS AND METHODS low inputs (Christanty, 1990; Hochegger, 1998; The present study was conducted in Soemarwoto and Conway, 1992). Homegardens can Kuzhicodu village; Kalkulam taluk of Kanyakumari protect soil from erosion, offer a habitat to wild district, at a distance of ca. 20 km away from plants and make efficient use of light, water and Nagercoil, the capital of the district. This village other resources (Christanty et al., 1986; Jose and lies between 77°16′ and 77°24′ of the eastern Shanmugaratnam, 1993; Torquebiau, 1992). longitudes and 8°15′ and 8°26′ of the northern Diversity in homegardens is influenced by latitudes. The altitude of the study area is 107m ecological factors of gardens and socioeconomic above sea level. People of the area belonged to characteristics of gardeners, as well as altitude of Nadars, Nayar, Sambavar castes. Most of the people homegardens, size and age of homegardens and live in concrete houses, others live in thatched huts. level of production intensity and market access Gardening is the main hobby which also yields (Abdoellah et al., 2001; Christanty et al., 1986; income to the family. Domesticated cattle and Quiroz et al., 2002; Michon and Mary, 1994). Their poultry yield additional income. Rice is the staple structure, composition, species and cultivars food of the people. Most of them consume tapioca diversity of homegardens are influenced by changes and other tuberous food crops at evening. in the socioeconomic circumstances and cultural The survey of homegardens was undertaken values of the households that maintain these in 2013 and 2014. Within the pool of available gardens. Interdisciplinary studies with attention to residences, the homegardens were visited regularly socioeconomic and biophysical aspects are to notice the plant species growing in the necessary for better understanding of homegarden’s households. Sampling took place in plots of benefits and function (Budowski, 1990; Landauer 10×10m(200 m2) which has been shown to be a and Brazil, 1990; Lok, 1998; Mendez et al., 2001; representative sample. The collected plant Nair, 1993). These homegardens inhibit a large specimens were dried, processed, mounted and number of non-timber forest products including identified with the help of regional floras (Gamble medicinal and aromatic plants and edible plants and Fischer 1921-1935, Mathew 1991, Nair and (Suba et al., 2014; Sukumaran and Parthiban, 2014; Henry 1983, Henry et al. 1987, Henry et al. 1989). Geetha et al., 2015). The literatures revealed that there is a lack of research on plant diversity and RESULTS AND DISCUSSION economic value of homegardens in Tamilnadu A total of 485 taxa belonging to 347 genera where tradition of homegarden is very old. In view and 105 families were identified from the rural of this fact, the present study aims at analyzing homegardens of Kuzhicodu village, Kanyakumari plant diversity and community structure in the District. The habit wise distribution of species selected homegardens of Kuzhicodu village, revealed that the number of herb species was Kanyakumari district and investigates the highest (253 species) and it was followed by shrubs contribution of the economically important species (96 species) trees (87 species) and climbers (49 grown in the homegardens towards the sustenance species). Of the 485 plant species, 101 families of the people. were angiosperms, 3 families were Gymnosperm (Araucariaceae, Cupressaceae, Cycadaceae) and one was a Pteridophyte (Davalliaceae). http://jsrr.net 29 ISSN: 2249-7846 (Online) Science Research Reporter, 6(1):28-43, (April - 2016) The dominant and co-dominant families Commenlinaceae and Rutaceae (6 species each), were Poaceae (39 species) and Euphorbiaceae (34 Amaryllidaceae and Nyctaginaceae (5 species species) followed by Asteraceae (31 species), each), Agavaceae, Annonaceae, Bignoniaceae, Fabaceae (27 species), Acanthaceae (26 species), Liliaceae, Myrtaceae, Oleaceae and Rosaceae (4 Rubiaceae (21 species), Araceae (17 species), species each), Araliaceae, Asclepiadaceae, Amaranthaceae (15 species), Malvaceae (14 Asparagaceae, Balsaminaceae, Capparaceae, species), Convolvulaceae (12 species), Lamiaceae, Crassulaceae, Orchidaceae, Oxalidaceae, Solanaceae and Verbenaceae (10 species each), Portulacaceae, Sapotaceae, Vitaceae and Apocyanaceae and Cucurbitaceae, (9 species each), Zingiberaceae (3 species each). Twenty families Caesalpinaceae (8 species), Mimosaceae and had 2 species each; however fortyone families were Moraceae (7 species each), Arecaceae, Cactaceae, monospecific. Fig. 2 Top ten families of the study area 45 39 40 34 35 31 30 27 26 25 21 17 20 15 14 15 12 10 Number Number speciesof 5 0 Among the 485 species recorded 171 medicinal and ornamental, 5 species were species were ornamentals, 152 species were used ornamental and timber, 4 species were timber for medicinal purpose, 41 species were edible and yielding however 2 species were ornamental and medicinal, 38 species were used as fodder, 34 edible, one species was edible and timber, edible, species were edible, 9 species were edible, timber and fodder, ornamental and fodder and medicinal and timber, medicinal and also used as ornamental, medicinal and timber. fodder, medicinal and timber, 10 species were Fig. 4 Economic importance of the plant species in the study area http://jsrr.net 30 ISSN: 2249-7846 (Online) P. Subitha et al., A Comparison between the plant strongly influenced by the household and diversity of homegardens of Kuzhicodu village nutritional complementarity with other major was significantly higher (485 species) when food sources, besides ecological and compared to homegardens in southwestern socioeconomic factors (Christanty et al., 1986; Bangladesh 419 species (Kabir and Webb, Asfaw and Woldu, 1997; High and Shackleton, 2008), Mendez et al. (2001) documented 324 2000; Vogl et al., 2002; Alavalapai et al., 2004). plant species in Nicaragua, 122 species in Assam Although, interest in homegardens has been homegardens (Das and Das, 2005), 103 mainly focused on producing cash crops and speciesrural households in Eastern cape province wood production.