Floristic Diversity and Ethnobotanical Uses of Vedhagiri Hills in Bhavani, Erode District, Tamil Nadu

Background: The present study was undertaken to enumerate the floristic composition of Veddhagiri hills, the Southern Western Ghats of Erode district. It becomes essential to analyze the diversity statically to find out the distribution of plants species in various families. Material and Methods: Several field trips were made from September 2013 to March 2014, covering different seasons, in order to know the phenology of the plants. Results: A total number of 135-species under 40-families with 103-genera were collected from the Angiosperms. Among the Angiosperms, Dicotyledons comprise 120-species under 69-genera and 36-families and the Monocotyledons comprise 15-species belonging to 14-genera and 4-families. On the basis of the habit, the plants have been grouped into trees, shrubs, herbs and climbers. Herbs are more dominated with 50 species, followed by Shrub 31 species, Climber 18 species, Tree 24 species and Grasses 12 species. Some of the plants were used by rural people in many different ways. The principle uses were medicinal, cultural/religious, food, timber and other household purposes. Conclusion: Natural forest areas are shrinking at an alarming rate due to high anthropogenic pressure and climatic change. The need of the hour is to conserve the fragmented repositories of natural forests in this region by implementing stringent conservation methods.