Ethnomedicinal knowledge among the Malayali tribal of Chitteri hills, Eastern Ghats, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

The present study was aimed to document the ethnomedicinal knowledge among the Malayali tribal of Chitteri hills Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India. Field visits were made to the Chitteri hills every month covering all seasons. Interviews with traditional healers and other knowledgeable inhabitants and farmers were conducted. The Malayali tribal people of Chitteri hills use 320 plant species for their day-to-day life, this ethnobotanical exploration revealed they were the habit of using around 216 species of medicinal plants belonging to 200 genera under 45 families. Malayali tribes use morphological characters such as bark surface, leaf colour, leaf taste and exudates, underground plant parts and ecology of species as criteria for identification of 135 species belongs to 105 genera under 46 families. The documentation of the knowledge of Malayali tribal identification of plants of Chitteri hills is to be accorded top priority in the preservation of our ancient traditional knowledge.