Ethnobotany of Medicinal Plants in Loma and Gena Bosa Districts (Woredas) of Dawro Zone, Southern Ethiopia

The traditional management, conservation and use of plant diversity with focus on medicinal plants found in and around home gardens in Loma and Gena Bosa Districts of Dawro Zone, Southern Ethiopia was studied. Data was collected between September 2006 and March 2007 to get relevant information and plant specimen of different seasons. The information was gathered through semi-structured interview conducted on 112 traditional healers whose ages ranged between 15 to 121 years. A total of 178 medicinal plants distributed in 64 families were documented in this study. The most frequently used plant part was leaf while the growth form with the highest number (43.82%) of representatives among the plants encountered in this study were herbs. About 57.9% medicinal plants were collected from wild while 24.1% were cultivated and 18.5% were both cultivated and collected from wild. A total of 62 human and 27 veterinary diseases were documented in the study. However, only 58% of the traditional healers exercised their indigenous knowledge on treating both human and livestock diseases, while 41.96% practiced treatment of only human diseases. The medicinal plant resources and the associated knowledge of herbal medicine need to be used in a sustainable way and developed for more effective use in the future.