Study of some sacred groves and sacred plants with their ethno-botanical importance in Ambaji forest of North Gujarat, India

Ambaji range forest of North Gujarat belongs to Banaskantha District. It is a part of Ambaji-Balaram wildlife sanctuary. North Gujarat is falling under Boswellia forest type1. The Adivasi (local people) dwelling in the forest has good knowledge of herbal medicine. The term ‘Ethnobotany’ was first coined to encompass entire studies concerning plants, which describe local people interaction with the natural environment. Its scope was much elaborated later. Present Ethnobotany links diverse disciplines such as anthropology, botany, linguistics, nutrition, ecology, conservation, economics and pharmacology, opening a wide field yet to enrich the human knowledge. Present paper deals with an ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants used in sacred groves like Mahadev Ramapir SGs: (Village- Banodara), Nageshwar Mahadeva Sacred Grove SGs (Village-Padaliya), and Bhakhar Babo Bavji SGs (Village - Ambalimala-Saraschapri), of Ambaji forest. The 31 plant species belonging to 25 families were collected and explained its exact botanical name with family, local name and folk uses for number of diseases. These sacred groves are being protected for generations together to maintain the unique diversity, endemic, medicinal and useful valued species. Extensive field trips were carried out in the sacred grove at monthly intervals. Specimens of flowering plants were collected and identified with the aid of different regional floras.