Phytodiversity and indigenous knowledge in coastal line of Rajakamangalam Thurai, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India
Paper Details
Phytodiversity and indigenous knowledge in coastal line of Rajakamangalam Thurai, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India
Abstract
Ethnobotanical knowledge of the village communities from various ecosystem use largest proportion of biodiversity for human and veterinary healthcare of different organism, medicinal plants have been greatly considered by rural communities as they improve the economy of rural people. India’s traditional system of medicine is related to richness of herbal plants biodiversity. The ultimate aim of the study is to document the Angiosperms and their indigenous uses from the coastal line from Periyakadu to Rajakamangalamthurai, which is located in the Rajakamangalam Panchayat of Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu. The present study documented as a total 97 taxa distributed in 41 families. Among the 97species 88 plants are dicotyledons and 9 plants are monocotyledons. Family wise distribution shows that Solanaceae is the dominant family represented by 8 species under 5 genera. Of these 97 taxa, 43 (44%) were herbs, 20 (21%) were shrubs, 26 (27%) were trees and 8(8%) were climbers belonging to 39 different families were recorded. Among the 97 plants 88 plants are used as medicine and 26 plants are edible. The plants are also used as fodder, ornamental, timber, dye, oil and Fibre of 14, 10, 7, 6, 1 and 1 species respectively. The various plant parts are used as medicine such as Leaves of 54 plants are used as medicine in various forms for various diseases. It is followed by other parts such as Roots, Fruits, Bark, Flower, Seeds, Stem and Latex of 18, 13, 8, 5, 5, 2 and 2 species respectively. Most of the people in the study area depend on traditional medicine for primary healthcare system. Therefore, conservation Angiosperms is more essential for our future generation.
Andrade-Cetto A. 2009. Ethnobotanical study of the medicinal plants from Tlanchinol, Hidalgo, Mexico. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 122, 163–171.
Ayyanar M, Ignacimuthu S. 2009a. Herbal medicines for wound healing: ethnobotanical and scientific evidence from South Indian traditional medicine. International Journal of Natural Products in Applied Research 2, 29–42.
Ayyanar M, Ignacimuthu S. 2011. Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants commonly used by Kani tribals in Tirunelveli hills of Western Ghats, India. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 134, 851–864.
Claeson UP, Malmfors T, Wikman G, Bruhn JG. 2000. Adhatoda vasica: a critical review of ethnopharmacological and toxicological data. Journal of Ethnopharmacology 72, 1–20.
Costanza R, Darge R, De Groot R, Farber S, Grasso M, Hannon B. 1997. The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital. Nature 387, 253–260.
Das L, Kamboj RD. 2020. Phytodiversity and population status of coastal flora of Jamnagar district and its islands in the Gulf of Kachchh, Gujarat. International Peer Reviewed Forestry Journal 146(7), 2321–094X.
Fabricant DS, Farnsworth NR. 2001. The value of plants used in traditional medicine for drug discovery. Environmental Health Perspectives 109, 69–75.
Gamble JS. 1827–1945. Flora of the presidency of Madras, Vols. 1–3.
Jaya Kumar S, Rama Devi P, Rejitha S. 2019. Diversity of medicinal plants in the Marthandanthurai coastal villages of Kanyakumari district. International Journal of Current Research in Life Sciences 8(10), 3233–3238.
Jayakumar S, Rejitha S. 2022. Floristic survey of medicinal plants along the coastal regions of Kanniyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India. IJFANS International Journal of Food and Nutritional Sciences 11(13).
Kingston S, Jeeva S, Kiruba S, Mishra BP, Kannan D. 2009. Indigenous knowledge of using medicinal plants in treating skin diseases in Kanyakumari district, Southern India. Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge 8(2), 196–200.
Mathew KM. 1995. An excursion flora of central Tamil Nadu, India.
Muhammad Qasini, Zainul Abideen, Muhammad Yousuf Adand, Raziuddin Ansari, Bilquees Crul, Muhammad Ajmal Khan. 2014. Traditional ethno-botanical uses of medicinal plants from coastal area of Pakistan. Journal of Coastal Life Medicine 2(1), 22–30.
Padmavathy A, Anbarashan M. 2011. Phytomedicinal study of coastal sand dune floras in Puducherry. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research 5, 91–112.
Ramarajan S, Murugesan AG. 2014. Plant diversity on coastal sand dune flora, Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu. Indian Journal of Plant Sciences 2, 42–48.
Ramashanker, Tripathi AK, Anku G, Neyaz S, Mohan, Rawat. 2017. Indigenous medicinal plants of Northeast India in human health. Journal of Drug Research in Ayurvedic Sciences 2(2), 104–117.
Rodgers WA, Danwar D. 1998. Planning wildlife protected area network in India. Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun, India, Vol. 1.
Schultes R, Evans R. 1978. Plant uses in a Brazilian coastal fishing community. Journal of Ethnobiology 13(2), 233–256.
Sugumaran MP, Avudainayagam S. 2017. Diversity of coastal vegetation along Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu. 104(7–9), 218–220.
Sukumaran S, Sujin RM, Geetha VS, Jeeva S. 2021. Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used by the Kani tribes of Pechiparai Hills, Western Ghats, India. Acta Ecologica Sinica 41, 365–376.
Thyagarajan SP, Jayaram S, Gopalakrishnan V, Hari R, Jeyakumar P, Sripathi MS. 2002. Herbal medicines for liver diseases in India. Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 17, S370–S376. DOI: 10.1046/j.1440-1746.17.s3.30.x
Trotter RT, Logan MH. 1986. Informants consensus: a new approach for identifying potentially effective medicinal plants. In: Etkin NL (Ed.), Plants in Indigenous Medicine and Diet. Redgrave Publishing Company, Bedford Hill, NY.
Uma R, Devi Renchu RS. 2022. Phytodiversity and indigenous knowledge in coastal line of Marthandamthurai, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India. International Journal of Research and Analytical Reviews 9(4), 386–394.
Vidyasagaran K, Madhusoodanan VK. 2014. Distribution and plant diversity of mangroves in the west coast of Kerala, India. Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences 4(5), 38–45.
R. Uma*, A. Brathiskha, 2026. Phytodiversity and indigenous knowledge in coastal line of Rajakamangalam Thurai, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India. Int. J. Biosci., 28(1), 16-27.
Copyright © 2026 by the Authors. This article is an open access article and distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) license.