ABSTRACT:
Plants have been the part of life forms even with the progenitors of man. Term "Ethnobotany" was coined to denote use of plants by human being. Ethnobotany deals with the direct relationship of plants with man. Plants show enormous diversity in the form of Algae, Fungi, Bryophytes, Preridophytes, Gymnosperms, and Angiosperms of which later are the most diversified plants. Present study focuses on ethnobotanical study of one of the largest family of Angiosperms, the family Leguminosae, of Raipur city area. Leguminosae include three subfamilies viz: Papilionoideae, Caesalpinoideae and Mimosoideac. The family has approximately18,000 species grouped into around 650 genera withcosmopolitan distribution. During the study seasonal field survey has been made. Information about the plants was obtained by interviewing the common people and folk healers. During the study 8 plant species were found to be used as pulses, 2 plant species (Glycine max and Arachis hypogeal) as edible oil yielding plants, 9 plant species used in different socio religious ceremonies (eg. Butea monosperma, Acacia catechu, Prosopis cineraria, 7 plant species as vegetable (eg. Trigonella foenum- graecumi), 3 species as dye yielding plants(eg. Butea monosperma), 8 plants used in traditional medicine(e.g Cassia occidentalis, Acacia concinna, Psoralea corylifolia, Dolichos biflorus, Mucuna pruriens), 7 plants species are Non-wood Forest Produces (NWFPS), (eg. Acacia nilotica), 13 plants are used as timber yielding plants e.g. Dalbergia sissoo). Some are fodder plants (e.g. Leucaena leucophloea), 2 plant species are used as tooth brush (e.g Acacia nilotica) and some plants yields fibre. Some weeds of this family are used to increase the fertility of soil due to the capacity of nitrogen fixation eg Aeshchymene indica, Lathyrus odoratus. Conservation practices of plants of this family have been observed during the present studies.