Medicina Tradicional y Naturopatía Clínica

Abstracto

Ethnobotanical Study of Medicinal Plant and Indigenous Knowledge in Harar Town

Bekele Kindie, Solomon Mengistu

As a study, medicinal plants are dominantly used in the healthcare system around the world and an easily accessible source of treatment. A purposive sampling technique was used to select a total of 120 knowledgeable respondents from different age groups. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods. 55 medicinal plant species and 32 families were identified and documented. Among the 55 plant species (52.74%) of the plant species used to treat human health problems, (10.90%), plant species used to treat livestock health problems and (36.36%) plant species were used to treat both human and livestock health problems. The most dominant families were Solanaceae (6), followed by Fabaceae. Home garden (49.10%) is the principal method of cultivation of medicinal plants whereas road side is the least method of cultivation. Herbs (43.63%) were the most growth habits of medicinal plants. Leaf (36.26%) was the most common plant part used followed by root (17.58%). The causes to threaten medicinal plants and associated knowledge are natural and human factors. Most commonly, causes of threatening with medicinal plants and associated knowledge were urbanization, agricultural expansion, lack of awareness to the community, charcoal production, firewood, construction, modern health expansion, drought, and overgrazing.