Ethnobotanical Important Plant Species of Kaya Kauma and Kaya Tsolokero

Abstract

An ethnobotanical study was carried out in the sacred forests of Kaya Kauma in Kilifi county and Kaya Tsolokero in Junju location in Kenya between 2015 and 2016. Indigenous important plants used for food, medicine, construction, recreation, and aesthetics are still available in the wild. Most of the plant species are threatened by over harvesting, human encroachment and loss of traditional knowledge on how to use them. In the Kaya Kauma and Tsolokero ethnobotanical knowledge on important plants has contributed to the livelihood of the communities living around the area. These plant resources have provided vital materials for survival to humanity. However this ethnobotanical knowledge has not been well documented, and these significant plant species used by the community around these forests has not been reported. Knowledge on ethnobotany in these communities is diminishing with the passage of the older generation. This paper intends to document the important plant species used by the communities living around Kaya Kauma and Kaya Tsolokero. Data was collected using interviews and questionnaires from the residents and villagers living around both the forest. Kaya elders, men, women and youth were interviewed in this survey. A total of 477 useful plants species were mentioned in Kaya Kauma and Kaya Tsolokero. In Kaya Kauma 167 useful plants were mentioned compared to 312 useful plants for Kaya Tsolokero. These useful plants were important for food, medicinal, constructional, firewood, decoration, recreational, bee-keeping and others. It also served in fulfilling the economic, medicinal, forage, constructional, apiary and more importantly medicinal applications to the dwelling population.