Vegetation inventory of the Redemption Camp, Ogun State, Nigeria; Evaluation of Medicinal Plant Resources and Strategies for Conservation

Research Article

Vegetation inventory of the Redemption Camp, Ogun State, Nigeria; Evaluation of Medicinal Plant Resources and Strategies for Conservation

E.U. Durugbo, B.O. Oyetoran and N.E. Oyejide

Plants are of great importance in the environment. They help in conserving soil fertility, prevention of erosion, recycling of oxygen and water. They also provide shade, seeds, fruits, timber, vegetables and medicines for man and his livestock. The Redemption Camp falls within the moist equatorial/tropical rainforest belt of Nigeria known for its rich reserve of economic and medicinal plants. This forest has been over exploited and the rate at which the vegetation around the Camp is being destroyed is alarming. Going by the UN declaration of 2010 as the year of biodiversity, there arose an urgent need to document the available plant species in the Redemption City, noting their different uses and promoting ample action towards their conservation through awareness programmes, housing in herbarium and cultivation of a medicinal plant farm. An inventory of the vegetation around the Camp was undertaken between March and November 2010. A total of 472 plants species belonging to one hundred and thirteen (113) families majority of which have previously been documented as medicinal plants were recorded. Herbs, trees and shrubs dominated the flora. The records of herbs and grasses could have possibly arisen as pioneer species of formerly forested areas cleared for housing and other development projects. The most diverse families were Poaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Leguminosae, Moraceae and Cyperaceae, while the commonest trees were Ficus capensis, F. polita, F. exasperata, Elaeis guineensis, Morinda lucida, Albizia lebbeck, Anthocleista vogelii, Maragaritaria discoides, Bridelia micrantha, Carica papaya, Spondias mombin, Blighia sapida, Antiaris africana, Alstonia boonei, Sterculia trigacantha, Rauvolfia vomitora, Ceiba pentandra, Albizia zygia, Newbouldia laevis, Anthocleista djalonensis and Bombax bounopozense. The numerous climbers characteristic of the tropical rainforest indicated the presence of forests in the recent past. This listing of the medicinal plants will pave way for other researchers as th search for new drugs continues.

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E.U. Durugbo, B.O. Oyetoran and N.E. Oyejide, 2012. Vegetation inventory of the Redemption Camp, Ogun State, Nigeria; Evaluation of Medicinal Plant Resources and Strategies for Conservation. Journal of Biological Sciences, 12: 34-42.

DOI: 10.3923/jbs.2012.34.42

URL: https://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=jbs.2012.34.42

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E.U. Durugbo

B.O. Oyetoran

N.E. Oyejide

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Research Article

Vegetation inventory of the Redemption Camp, Ogun State, Nigeria; Evaluation of Medicinal Plant Resources and Strategies for Conservation

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