Floristic and Ethnobotanical Study of Indigenous Plants of Ranapur Reserve Forest, Odisha, India

The indigenous plants of Ranapur reserve forest of Odisha state, India, possess ample scope in ethnobotany due to their medicinal properties. Keeping in view of the requirements of the urbanites, this work highlights the utilization of native flora, identification, ethnobotany, floristic survey, and preservation of natural and cultivated plant species within the hills of Ranapur, Odisha. A field study around the Ranapur forest resulted in a wide diversity accounting for 143 plant species belonging to 53 families, which were identified and documented alongside their botanical name, family, and habitat following local herbaria, archives of Flora of Orissa, monographs, and standard taxonomic study. Gmelina arborea, Rauwolfia serpentina, and Crataeva nurvala (Varuna) fall into the RET taxa (Rare, Endangered, and Threatened) and are groundbreaking against various diseases. A few wild plants such as Shorea robusta, Dalbergia sissoo, Pterocarpus marsupium, Murraya koenigii, and Schleichera oleosa were the most dominant species in the study area. The present study adds detailed database concerning the floral diversity and their medicinal values, which attracts many researchers as well as the local populace to conserve and explore their wide-spectrum applications. This could be useful in novel drug discovery and authenticates the ethnomedicinal knowledge