Medico - Botanical studies of angiosperms from select areas of Agastheeswaram Taluk in Kanyakumari District, Tamilnadu, Southern India

The present study highlights some important medicinal plants used in Agastheeswaram Taluk, Kanyakumari District, Tamilnadu, Southern India. Medicinal plants have been continuously used to cure various ailments both for human beings and veterinary uses in the study area. Extensive field surveys are conducted in 12 areas for about two years from October 2014- October 2016 to survey the medicinal plants and collect the information from villagers. A total of 319 medicinal plant species used by local people were documented. These medicinal plant species were distributed in 241 genera belonging to 84 families and 36 order under 8 clades / groups. Among the 319 species, 283 species belongs to dicotyledons and 36 species belongs to monocotyledons. The dominant clade is Rosides (127 species from 92 genera) followed by Asterids (116 species from 90 genera), Monocots (36 species from 29 genera), Superasterids (26 species from 18 genera). The most dominant family in the present study area is Fabaceae with 44 species. Next to that Apocynaceae (18 species), Asteraceae (17 species), Acanthaceae and Lamiaceae (15 species each). The dominant genera is Ipomoea (7 species) followed by Crotalaria, Indigofera, Euphorbia, Phyllanthus, Solanum and Senna (4 species each). The dominant habit of plant species is herbs (150 species) followed by shrubs (75 species), trees (49 species) and climbers (45 species). All these 319 medicinal plant species ethnomedicinally used, next to that 248 species used in folklore followed by Siddha (234 species), Ayurveda (200 species), Unani (94 species) and Homeopathy (42 species). This study focused the importance, utilization and conservation of the medicinal plants among the people.