ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDY OF USEFUL PLANTS IN DANIIO GADE (HOME-GARDENS) IN SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA 

Belachew Wassihun¹*^, Zemede Asfaw ² and Sebsebe Demissew² 

¹Institute of Biodiversity Conservation and Research, ² The National Herbarium,

              Department of Biology, Addis Ababa University, PO Box 3434, Addis Ababa,

                           Ethiopia

ABSTRACT: Small-scale traditional agricultural ecosystems, commonly referred to as home-gardens and also known locally as Daniio gade in the Gamo language, were ethnobotanically studied in southern Ethiopia, around Arbaminch in three localities named Ochollo, Channo and Lantee. This study documents the plants used by the local people including the management, utilization and related ethnobotanical aspects based on detailed study carried out in the three localities. A sample comprising 36 home-gardens (12 from each locality) was considered. A total of 133 useful plant species in 71 families and 115 genera with an average of 8 species per garden were studied. Ethnobotanic information was gathered on plant names, planting practices, source of planting material and plant use systems through Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and semi structured interviews. The informants were garden holders, native to the Gamo zone with age range between 22 and 80 years. The useful plants were identified with informants by their Gamo names and the specimens were later authenticated at the National Herbarium (ETH), Addis Ababa University. Of the plants documented, 48 species are food plants, 18 species are medicinal plants and 67 species are other useful (non-food) plants. Many of the medicinal plants are herbs (66.6%) or shrubs (22.2%). Leaves (66.6%) are the most frequently used plant part.

Key words/ phrases: Arbaminch, Gamo, home-garden, useful plants

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*Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed, PO Box 30726, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

 

INTRODUCTION

 Home-gardens are an ancient and widespread agroforestry systems (Christanty, 1990; Karyono, 1990; Okigbo, 1990; Millat-e-Mustafa, 1997b) in the tropical and subtropical areas. Home-gardens are said to have been components of human subsistence strategies since the Neolithic period (Soleri and Cleveland, 1989). Traditional home-gardens (are known by various vernacular designations in different cultures, viz., mixed garden, horticulture, house gardens, compound farms, kitchen garden, dooryard gardens and homestead agroforestry) refer to the land surrounding a house on which a mixture of annual and perennial plants are grown together with or without animals and largely managed by the household members for their use or commercial purposes (Millat-e-Mustafa, 1997a; Godbole, 1998).  

Limited studies have focused on the evolution of home-gardens but it has been supposed that they arose from shifting cultivation to overcome resource constraints and to ascertain rights to land resources (Fernandes and Nair, 1990). Humankind, apart from the nomadic life, had begun to exploit the surroundings and cultivate plants for food, medicinal and other purposes in home-gardens and this helped the progress of prehistoric humans (Maheshwari, 1988; Jain, 2000). The collection of useful plants and animals around homes have gradually led to small scale plant and animal husbandry, whose continued intensification resulted in the emergence of full-scale agriculture in gardens and fields (Zemede Asfaw and Ayele Nigatu, 1995). Since home-gardens are small-scale traditional farming systems practiced around the house, their primary function is for growing various crops for home consumption (Hoyyeepoo, 1990; Rajasekaran and Warren, 1994; Zemede Asfaw, 2001a and 2001b). Because of the diverse flora and the opportunity for year-round growth, home-gardening became a well-developed and dependable food production strategy, and continues to be the avenue for introduction and adaptation of new crops. The species diversity of plants in home-garden has traditionally helped the farmers to meet their needs for variety of goods and services.

Though the main function of the home-garden is to hold food plants, mainly vegetables and fruit trees; in addition medicinal plants play relevant roles in the home-garden (Agelet et al., 2000). Medicinal plants were the primary health care agents over the many centuries before the advent of modern medicine. As humans are subjected to some diseases and infections, the control of parasitic and infectious diseases through the use of plants from home-gardens in the past have played roles in the evolution of selection of plants by humans. Their usage had, however, been in decline in most countries from about the beginning of the 20^th century up to the 1970s (Bannerman and Wen-Chieh, 1983). The decline in popularity is considered to have been associated with industrialization and urbanization and the general trend towards rejection of traditional values and systems (Ron et al., 2000). 

Many authors have commented on the importance of home-gardens for the in situ conservation of plant genetic resources. Altieri and Merrick (1987) discussed the role of in situ conservation in preserving traditional agricultural systems, species and the indigenous knowledge from undue exploitation. Eyzaguirre and Linares (2001) mentioned that home-gardens are refuge for wild species that are threatened in the wild by deforestation and environmental changes. Agelet et al. (2000) pointed out that, home-gardens are useful mechanism for conserving non-crop species and that, depending upon the diversity present, they can be considered as gene banks for primitive cultivars with a potential value. Thus, through the practice of non clean-cultivation, farmers have inadvertently increased the gene flow between crops and their wild relatives. Furthermore, Ninez (1987), Okigbo (1990), Zemede Asfaw and Ayele Nigatu (1995) and Zemede Asfaw (2001a) reported that gardens are being used as informal experimentation plots for new varieties and exotic species. Because of the complex species diversity and interactions in home-gardens, they are important for the study of evolution of plant genetic resources. Home-gardens provide a favored and highly protected environment for local varieties that have had difficulties competing with introduced or genetically improved cultivars. Castineiras et al. (2000) also stressed the importance of home-gardens, which are reservoirs of genes for adaptation and resistance. At present this system is undergoing a rapid transformation, which is the result of economic modernization and cultural change (Lok, 2001). Traditional home-garden systems in many regions are replaced by financially more attractive cash crop plantation (Eyzaguirre and Linares, 2001). Garden conversions often imply drastic modification of the traditional vegetation composition, which may lead to serious problems, such as pests and soil degradation (Gonšalves, 1988; Guhardja, 1988). 

Though home-gardens are an ancient agroforestry systems, the focus on the system as development strategy is relatively recent, its existence as a traditional land use practice spans centuries, even millennia in some cases (Millat-e-Mustafa, 1997a). The last couple of decades have witnessed an increasing worldwide interest in home-gardens, exposing their potential for sustained subsistence farming and biodiversity conservation. At present home-gardens are widespread in the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia (Christanty, 1990; Marten, 1990; Godbole, 1998), Africa (Okigbo, 1990) and Central and South America (Padoch and de Jong, 1991; Castineiras et al., 2000). Considering the long history of agriculture in Ethiopia (Brandt, 1984) and the presence of ancient crops in home-gardens (Zemede Asfaw, 1997), it is possible to assume that gardening was among the earliest forms of farming practiced in Ethiopia. Zemede Asfaw and Ayele Nigatu (1995) mentioned that home-gardening in Ethiopia is probably as old as agriculture. However, very few general studies have been made in the home-gardens of Ethiopia (Zemede Asfaw and Ayele Nigatu, 1995; Zemede Asfaw, 1997, 2001a and 2001b). Home-garden structure and function has been investigated in details only for some areas in Ethiopia namely Bonga (Feleke Woldyes, 2000) and Welayta and Gurage (Zemede Asfaw and Zerihun Woldu, 1997). However, such studies have hardly been initiated in southern Ethiopia, particularly the Arbaminch area. The people have a rich folklore transmitted orally from generation to generation. Thus, a wealth of information exists among these peoples on the utility of plants. The aim of this paper is to fill the research gap and to present the information concerning useful plants of the home-garden of this region. With it we hope to contribute to the maintenance of rich traditions as well as to provide access to specialists in search of natural products, with the aim of equitably using the plant resources. 

 

MATERIALS AND METHODS

THE STUDY AREA

LOCATION AND CLIMATE

 

The study of useful plants of home-gardens was carried out in three villages (Ochollo, Channo and Lantee) around Arbaminch town, in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region. Arbaminch town (6⁰ 02’ N, 37⁰ 36’ E) is located at 505 km south of Addis Ababa at an altitude of 1350 m a.s.l. Ochollo (6⁰ 10’ N, 37⁰ 35’ E) is situated 32 km north of Arbaminch at 2100 m a.s.l. Channo (6⁰ 06’ N, 37⁰ 35’ E) and Lantee (6⁰ 08’ N, 37⁰ 39’ E) which are 17 km northeast and 23 km northeast of Arbaminch are located at 1230 m a.s.l and 1220 m a.s.l respectively (Fig. 1).  The relief setting is mountainous, rugged, hilly and undulating. The Region includes some basaltic highlands in the north and to the west of Lakes Abaya and Chamo and some crystalline highlands to southern extremes (Murphy, 1968).  

The average annual rainfall of the area is 800 mm. Ochollo is in cool-semi-humid zone (highland) while Channo and Lantee areas are in warm semi-humid zones (lowland). The temperature in the areas varies and ranges from 16. 2 ⁰ C to 32 ⁰C. The vegetation of the study area is quite diverse and can be divided into Acacia-Commiphora woodland (lower portion) and Combretum-Terminalia woodland (upper portion). Though natural forests have disappeared in many places due to shifting agriculture, a rich floristic diversity can still be marked in these forests.

 THE PEOPLE

 

The home-garden areas studied are those of the Gamo people, found in North Omo Zone of Southern Ethiopia. In the local vernacular language "Gamo" translates to lion and it refers to both the people and their language.  The Gamo language belongs to the Omotic language family.  About 75% of the total populations of the area live in the highland areas because of less incidence of both human and animal diseases. In the lowland areas mosquitoes reproduce very rapidly and the people are at a great risk of catching malaria. The population of the area is heavily dependent upon subsistence economy. The highland areas are characterized by intensive system of agriculture. There are two cropping seasons within a year locally known as Silla and Gabba, referring to the long and short harvesting seasons respectively. Silla crops are planted in July and harvested in November, while the Gabba crops are planted in February and harvested in June. The major cereal crops grown are sorghum, maize, tef and barley. Root and tuber crops are also grown, and enset is a very important food crop. The major non-farm enterprises in Ochollo area are handcrafts mainly weaving and bamboo craft making. Mixed farming with extensive cultivation system is dominantly carried out in Lantee and Channo areas. Fruits, cattle rearing and fishing from lake Abaya generate income for the farmers. 

Socio-cultural background of the Gamo people has its origin from its traditional institutions and religious background. The social and cultural aspects of Gamo people could be understood using the concept of Gome (curse). Gome is caused by the action that goes against the traditional rule Wega (belie - related culture of the society) and may cause misfortune. Committing adultery, false testimony, disobeying the decision of the village assembly and the culture of the society are acts resulting in Gome in the society. Cutting plants that are of significant importance for religious purposes  (e.g. Ficus spp.) is also considered as causing Gome. These plants and many others are respected for religious reasons. Thus, the local people will protect and preserve the plant species that are strongly associated with believes and religion and are hesitant to destroy them. 

 SURVEY  

A reconnaissance survey was made in August 2001 to select farmers' villages. The first field data collection was done in October 2001, and an additional field trip was made in February 2002. Thirty-six home-gardens were selected by random identification of 12 home-gardens from each study site. Interview-based fieldwork was conducted with the owners of home-gardens, who were our informants and most of them belong to the Gamo people. Some informants, though not natives, have lived there and for most of their lives being assimilated in the culture. The ages of the informants range between 22 and 80 years. Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and semi- structured interviews were made on plant names, planting practices, source of planting materials, plant use systems and other traditional and socio-economic practices. Information delivered, and traditional songs and stories that pertain to the use and management of plants were recorded. Plants that are found in and around the home-garden and which the community described as useful were listed according to their vernacular names. Voucher specimens were collected for each plant species with the exception of those crops that were identified in the field. The specimens were identified by using the published volumes of the Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea (Hedberg and Edwards, 1989; Edwards et al., 1995 and 1997) and by comparing with authentic specimens at the National Herbarium (ETH), Department of Biology, Addis Ababa University.

DATA ANALYSIS        

Cultural significance of species was estimated following the system established by Turner (1988). The cultural significance of a plant taxon can be defined as the importance of the role that it plays within a particular culture. This is usually synonymous with the use of a plant, when "use" is interpreted in its widest, most general context. The more widely or intensively a plant is used, the greater is its cultural significance. Even plants that are not recognized as a distinct type by members of a cultural group can play some role, however minor, within the culture. The quality of "uses" are rated and assigned values ranging from 5 to 1 according to their general contribution to peoples' livelihood (primary foods being given a value of 5; secondary foods and primary materials, 4; other food related uses and medicines, 3; ritual, mythological, recreational and other "uses", 2; and mere recognition, 1).  Additionally, for each species, each "use" is evaluated according to its intensity and its exclusivity, and these qualities are also rated on simple numerical scale from 5 to 1 (very high intensity given a value of 5; moderately high use intensity, 4; medium use intensity 3; low use intensity 2; and minimal use intensity, 1) and from 2 to 0.5 (preferred exclusivity given a value of 2; average exclusivity 1; and low exclusivity, 0.5) respectively. The three values, termed "quality", "intensity," and "exclusivity", are multiplied together for each type of  "use", and for each species, the values of all the "uses" are added together to give the final Index of Cultural Significance (ICS). Species importance was estimated by use value analysis. In this analysis, uses were categorized into three classes - no use, minor use and major use where use value scores assigned to these classes were 0, 0.05 and 1 respectively (Phillips, 1996).  The overall 'use value' of the plant was determined to evaluate the importance of each plant species to the local people and was calculated as 'the average use value' of the species.           

Preference rank was done by using paired comparisons (Martin, 1995). In paired comparison items were arranged in sets of two. Then the informants were asked to rate their preferences and the overall number of an item chosen by each informant is added to give the preference rank of the given item.

RESULTS

Plant diversity in the Gamo home-garden (Daniio gade)

Farmers cultivate diverse plant species in their home-gardens. Plants that are grown are either protected or tolerated for their known or perceived uses. They use a taxonomically diverse group of plants, about 133 species (53 herbs, 47 trees, 26 shrubs, 5 vines and 2 trailers) in 115 genera and 71 families (Table 1) from an area of 20087 m² (2.0087 ha). These have been further grouped according to the plant use category (Table 2). 

Table 1. Taxonomic rank and major plant use category of species 

 
     

     Table 2. Plant use categories recorded by study sites 

  * The plants have overlapping use

The Gamo food plants are derived from 26 plant families (Table 1). The study reveals that particularly the families Fabacaee, Rutaceae, Poaceae and Solanaceae are important in the livelihood of the people in the area (Table 3). The plant family with the most species used is the Fabaceae. The most important species in this family are Phaseolus lunatus, P. vulgaris and Vigna unguiculata. The family Rutaceae includes the Citrus species that include Citrus aurantium, C. aurantifolia, C. sinensis and C. limon. Though citruses are supplementary foods, they contribute vitamins and minerals to the diets of the Gamo people. Since the staple foods (Ipomoea batatas, Manihot esculenta, Colocasia esculenta and Ensete ventricosum) are nutritionally deficient in vitamins and minerals, but very high in carbohydrates. Citruses also serve as minor cash crops.

Table 3. Plant families with higher number of species used for food, medicine and other purposes in the study sites (rank ordered by total) 

 

The family Poaceae ranks second in species used for food, among these are Zea mays, Sorghum bicolor, Saccharum officinarum. The latter species is important for both cash and food supplement. The family Solanaceae is third in the number of species utilized for food and in overall species use. Nevertheless, this family is not a major food source for the Gamo people. Its importance is due to Capsicum frutescens and C. annuum, both used primarily as spice. The plant species used for various purposes have been grouped into the usual horticultural classification and are presented in Table 4. The species are listed in Appendices 1 (food crops) and 2 (other useful plants).  

Table 4. Frequency and percentage of each horticultural category of plants

        * The analysis is based on the data in Appendices 1 and 2

The garden flora is composed of food, medicinal and other useful plants, accounting for 36.10%, 13.53% and 50.37% of the total species, respectively. Among the food crops of the garden, fruits make 11.28%, vegetables 7.52%, root and tuber crops 6.02%, pulses 4.5% and the rest goes for the other categories. For the other useful plant components of the garden, miscellaneous (31.57%), wild or semi-wild edible plants (5.27%), material for crafts (4.51%), plants with pleasant fragrance (3.01%), spice plants (2.26%), and with lower proportions that account for the other categories. The stimulants, which account for only 1.50% of the species, are the most important ones as they include the cash crops like Nicotiana tabacum and Catha edulis.

Table 5. Plant species with the highest relative frequency of occurrence at the three sites  

Use value and cultural significance of crop plants

The use value and cultural significance analysis was performed on 13 crop plant species selected by the farmers to determine the utility of the species and their role in the culture of the society. Ensete ventricosum and Moringa stenopetala showed high use values and cultural significance  (Table 6). E. ventricosum has high frequency of occurrence (Table 5) and percentage of preference in Ochollo area (Table 6), whereas Coffea arabica and Musa paradisiaca have high frequency of occurrences  and percentage of preferences in Channo and Lantee respectively.

Table 6. Important food plant species mentioned by farmers in the study sites 

        ICS = Index of Cultural Significance

  Medicinal plants in and around home-garden (Daniio gade)

A total of 18 plant species with medicinal properties were recorded and this accounted for 13.53% of the total plant species studied. Species of the family Asteraceae were the most used for remedies, representing nearly 22.2% of all the medicinal plants. The majority of the medicinal plants are herbs (66.6%) followed by shrub species (22.2%). The most frequently utilized plant part is the leaf (66.6%), followed by the root (16.6%).

The common medicinal plants of the Gamo people are arranged by families and tabulated with brief notations of uses recorded from the local practitioners  (Table 7).

[ Click Here to See table 7 ]

Management of useful plants in and around home-garden (Daniio gade)

A number of management practices are performed in the home-garden. One of which is the endeavor to maintaining as much as possible diverse plant species in the garden. High diversity of plant species in the home-garden is achieved through planting and protecting annual and perennial herbs, and woody perennials in mixture. Soil fertility in the home-garden is maintained mainly through incorporation of animal manure and other household wastes. Plants like Erythrina brucei, Millettia ferruginea and Cordia africana are growing in the home-garden because of common belief among farmers that they are important in increasing soil fertility and in conserving soil moisture. Methods to preserve seeds for future use include smoking (e.g., maize and sorghum) and burying the root of some plants (e.g., yam and taro) near rivers. Crop selection is the other practice performed in the home-garden. Yield, quality and quantity, length of time required from planting to harvesting and resistance to disease and drought are the farmers' criteria for selection. Although agriculture is generally thought to be the domain of men's activity, Gamo women are also engaged equally with men. For instance, taking manure into farmland, soil preparation, weeding and harvesting are some of the activities in which women have direct involvement.

DISCUSSION

 

Features of the Gamo home-gardens (Daniio gade) and the role of food plants  

Home-gardens in the study sites provide a number of services to the local people. The primary function of these home-gardens is for quick and easy access to foodstuffs as justified by the prevalence of high number and dominance of food plants. A secondary function is to provide medicines used to threat day-to-day illnesses. Thus, there is a need to modify slightly the definition of the home-garden given by Christanty (1990), Okigbo (1990) and Godbole (1998) which emphasized only the first function to include at least the cultivation of medicinal plants as one of the primary objectives of this system.  Medicinal plants (e.g., Ruta chalepensis, Artemisia absinthium and A. afra) that are utilized frequently and other crops requiring close supervision and protection (e.g., Mangifera indica and Persea americana) are usually cultivated close to home sites or inside the homestead. In some home-gardens of the study area, garden crops (e.g., Phaseolus lunatus, P. vulgaris and Vigna unguiculata) are planted along with crops like Sorghum bicolor, Zea mays and Manihot esculenta to maximize the use of available land. In Ochollo, farmers always plant coffee (Coffea arabica) within enset (Ensete ventricosum) plantation near the cattle pen where manure is available in high quantities. enset provides shade and conserve moisture because of its large leaves and its spongy leaf sheaths. In Channo and Lantee, Coffea arabica is planted near Cordia africana, which is used as a shade and its litter contributes towards improving soil conditions. According to the informants, in early 1960s Channo and Lantee areas were known for their production of staple foods such as Ipomoea batatas and Zea mays. However, these are now replaced by plant species with high economic returns including Mangifera indica, Carica papaya, Musa paradisiaca and Persea americana. The study of Channo and Lantee areas showed specialization of agricultural tasks and loss of genetic diversity where changes have taken toward replacement of traditional vegetables and medicinal plants by fruit crops. 

Home-gardens in the Ochollo area mainly produce staple crops e.g., Plectranthus edulis, Dioscorea alata and D. bulbifera and Colocasia esculenta, in addition to crops such as Ensete ventricosum and Coffea arabica. The possession of the gardens serves as the primary food security strategy for farming communities, and supply for the market by merchants and neighboring urban inhabitants. The home-garden in the Ochollo area is a mixed-farming system that is based on the enset crop. Enset is an indigenous root crop cultivated and processed for human food as a major carbohydrate source in the area. The use value analysis indicated that more than 12 direct uses were recognized of which enset had the highest contribution to the total use value (3.5%) followed by Moringa stenopetala (3.3%) in Channo and Lantee. M. stenopetala in the latter two areas is considered as staple food like that of enset in the highland area. Beside its food value, as cooked vegetable, it is drought resistant and used as a shade for growth of certain vegetables.  

In Ochollo, enset has special importance due to its massive use and the development of diverse local varieties. The informants revealed that there are many more local varieties or clones with specific functions. These include zinkke, for its food quality; geena, for its medicinal value; mazie, for its high yield value; and agginno, for its early maturity. Enset showed the highest calculated index of cultural significance because of its perenniality, vegetative propagation, drought resistance, massive and diverse products and many cultural values compared to other crops (Table 6). The importance of this crop is also reflected in some Gamo songs. One such song goes as “Onaagishe maathi, Okeetha gishe Uuthi”. This means that the physical stature of a child is judged by the milk he/she had drunk as the wealth of a person is judged by the amount of enset he/she has around the house. Another seasonal Gamo song includes the line,  “Beteppe ashshees uuthi”. This means that enset prevents peoples from being migrants during famine seasons, showing its drought resistance and food security values.

  The Gamo ethnomedicine and medicinal plants

The tradition of using plants for different treatments is one of the indigenous cultural habits widely practiced in the study area. The Gamo people recognize that some diseases are due to natural causes. They also believe that other diseases are the result of bad sprit, or the breaking of the traditional rule known as Wega. Many of the treatments are effective and many more are harmless while some are believed to be dangerous. The plants used and the methods of preparation are often closely guarded secrets, usually only passed from father to eldest son as the death of the former approaches. The healers in the area protect and keep confidential their ethnomedicinal knowledge for several reasons. Some believe that sharing their knowledge with others will result in the loss of the healing powers of the medicines. Others believe that medicines are owned by supernatural power called Xooso (God). Some healers claim that herbal remedies are private properties and charge a large sum of money for information.  Though, herbal medicines continue to play a great role in the curing system of certain diseases and ailments, there is acculturation due to the widespread substitution of western medicines for native traditional healings. This has caused a decline in the herbs and herbalists. For example, the taxa that were used as sources of medicine in the past generations though still cultivated and protected or tolerated they have lost their original uses and have become shade and ornamental plants (e.g., Hagenia abyssinica). Other plants traditionally cultivated for medicinal uses now grow in marginal situation in the garden and are occasionally used, but have lost their original importance (e.g., Artemisia afra, A. absinthium and Foeniculum vulgare). Some of the medicinal plants that were no longer cultivated are ruderal, continue growing around the garden and are, easily accessible (e.g., Foeniculum vulgare and Artemisia absinthium). These are examples of the acculturation to which a rural community has been subjected by the western industrialization and shows the dynamics in the indigenous medicinal plant knowledge and use. The death of old people with confined particular knowledge on cultural importance of some plants also contributes to its decline. The present study has documented a good number of medicinal plants of the Gamo people that are at present grown in and around home-gardens. The figures obtained are similar to those reported from other regions, in which medicinal plants represent a considerable part of the flora close to human habitats. Padoch and de Jong (1991) reported that of the 168 plant species grown in Peruvian Amazon home-gardens, 27 were medicinal plants. Likewise the results of this study indicated that the largest group is made up of wild medicinal plants that thrive in the garden space, strictly followed by the medicinal species grown close to the house, with an overall representation of about 33.3% by cultivated species and the wild species accounted for about 66.7%. 

Many of the medicinal plants like Indigofera arrecta, Amaranthus caudatus and Hagenia abyssinica are used by the local people to treat dysentery and intestinal parasites. Although most often these medicinal plants are used for treatments of dysentery and parasites, some informants reported that Leishmania aethiopica (Volvo), a skin disease, that occurs in an estimated 71.6% of Ochollo population (Genene Mengistu et al., 1992) were treated by Clematis simensis. This is a potential species for chemical evaluation to develop modern pharmaceutical formulation as a remedy for Leishmania aethiopica.  There is no information on recent introduction of medicinal plants into the home-gardens of the study area. New species and varieties have appeared over the years in the home-gardens such as Xanthosoma sagittifolium, but plants cultivated for medicinal purposes are not among them. The Gamo culture continues to be diluted and threatened by development pressure and modernization. The culture of using traditional medicines acquired over thousands of years is disappearing. Thus, there is an urgent need to record the information of local people, conserve the plants and work towards chemical formulation before the knowledge and the plants disappear from the area.

  The role of other useful plants under the home-garden (Daniio gade) environment

 

Among other useful plants encountered in the study area, Arundinaria alpina has diverse functions. It is used for fence, crafts making, house construction, and in animal and human bone setting in the traditional medicinal practice. Ficus species are valued for traditional worship as they are associated with ancestral sacrifices and they are protected by such beliefs. Cordia africana, despite its soil fertilizing properties and its use as a good shade tree, is valued for its timber production. Mainly live plants of Dracaena steudneri, Erythrina brucei, Pycnostachys abyssinica, Euphorbia tirucalli, Withania somnifera and Jatropha curcas are used for making the fence. This respect and consequent preservation of the plant species indicates that some indigenous practices have an impact in terms of conservation.  Plant species such as Carissa edulis, Cordia africana, Balanites aegyptiaca and Ficus spp. have edible fruits that provide supplementary food especially during drought years.    

     CONCLUSION

Home-gardens in the broad sense are a basic agroecosystem in the area studied. All families in the three study sites practice home-gardening.  The structure of the home-gardens and the farming practice allowed to maintain a considerable number and variety of useful species actively by cultivation or passively by encouraging and tolerating them within the home-garden premises. However, this particular agroecosystem in the study area showed a rapid loss of plant biodiversity in two ways. First, there has been, as reported by informants, a loss of many varieties of crop plants, especially Ipomoea batatas and Zea mays from the lowlands. Second, the number of medicinal plants cultivated and used has dramatically decreased. This means that both species richness and plant uses have decreased through genetic and cultural erosions. Even though, in the home-gardens, the plant species that are recorded have been and still are relatively well managed, they are affected by two factors. These include migration of young people from rural to urban areas and the modernization of agriculture which had the most impact on biological diversity and indigenous knowledge, practices and skills. Much of the local ethnobotanical information held by elderly members of the community is being lost. This is particularly the case in the highland (Ochollo) where migration is disrupting the continuity of traditional life style and modernization of agriculture in the lowlands (Channo and Lantee) is replacing the diverse species by few commercial plants. There is a clear need to capture the local knowledge, the practice related management and utilization of plants before these are lost forever. In conclusion, greater efforts should be devoted to surveys, documentation and conservation of these resources before it is too late to tap the information of the indigenous people and before cultural transformation obliterates the traditional system.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We are grateful to the French Centre for Ethiopian Studies for the financial support and the current Director, Gerard Prunier. We also thank the Department of Biology of the Addis Ababa University that facilitated the study in several ways. Colleagues at the National Herbarium who have been very helpful and the local informants in the study sites who immensely contributed to the success of this work are also acknowledged with thanks.

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