Some Endangered Ethnomedicinal Plants in Rivers State, Nigeria
Abstract
Due to high demand of medicinal plants, there has been indiscriminate harvesting and overexploitation of these plants as well as environmental pollution leading to the species becoming extinct, threatened or endangered. This paper is aimed at documenting some of the medicinal plants which are considered to be endangered. Information was collected through group discussion and guided interviews with traditional medicine practitioners (TMPs). Forty-one (41) plant species belonging to forty-one (41) genera and twenty-nine (29) families were recorded as endangered species. Of these, were twenty-six (26) trees, eight (8) shrubs, five (5) climbing herbs, and two (2) erect herbaceous plants. These plants are used in the treatment of cancer, malaria, measles, snake bite, etc. The listed plants are considered to be endangered because their natural habitats are constantly degraded by individuals, governmental and non governmental agencies. There is urgent need to preserve the remaining Nigerian flora through the adoption of conservation measures for medicinal plants in particular and the total Nigerian flora in general.
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