Survey of wild aromatic ethnomedicinal plants of Velliangiri Hills in the Southern Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu, India.

Abstract

Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu is rich with floral diversity, diverse climatic zones, landscapes and forms a co n- tiguous territory of evergreen and semi -evergreen woodland, high altitude shola grassland, replete with the exceptional biological diversity and endemism. The wealth of living for ethnic community is mostly naturally a romatic sweet-scented medicinal plants. These plants are used as medicines, therapeutics, cosmetics, some as food and food additives. The trad i- tionally used 83 aromatic plants belonging to 32 families ar e documented with botanical name, family, vernacu- lar/English name, aromatic parts and medicinal purposes .