Phylogenetic classification of ethnobotanical plants used by the tribes of Nilambur forest, Malappuram district, Kerala, India

Abstract

The present paper deals with an attempt to classify the ethno botanical plants collected during the study conducted for a period of 6 years among the 6 tribal inhabitants of Malappuram district, Kerala, based on APG IV system. The present study describes 333 wild, naturalized and cultivated flowering plant species in 267 genera, 82 families, 35 orders and 8 clades based on the APG system. The 333 species are included under the clade Magnolids, Monocots, Eudicots, Core Eudicots, Superrosids, Rosids, Superasrerids and Asterids. Of these Rosids are the most represented clade with 140 species. Leguminosae was the most-frequently cited family with 34 species followed by Apocynaceae and Acanthaceae with 17 species each. Lamiaceae, Malvaceae, Combretaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Zingiberaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Phyllanthaceae, Rubiaceae and Asteraceae are the other families. The Phylogenetic Classification of ethnobotanical plants used by the tribes in Malappuram district will provide an opportunity for efficient management of the biodiversity information databases.