Indigenous knowledge and ethnobotany of tree bark utilised by Rathwa Tribe in Central Gujarat

Central Gujarat forms one of the diverse tracts in terms of vegetation and also tribal pockets stretching along the Eastern boundaries of Panchmahals, Dahod and Vadodara Districts. Central Gujarat has been explored floristically to explore ethnobotanical uses of tree species and focusing on bark as economically and ethnobotanically important plant part. Central Gujarat forms one of the major tribal belts inhabited mainly by Rathwa, Koli, Bhils and Tadvi tribes surrounded by Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra state. Originally called as “Rath Pradesh”, due to dominance of Rathwa tribe, it has rich floristic composition with nearly 100 tree species. An attempt was made to document, tree species used by Rathawa tribe for various medicinal uses. 55 tree species were reported, whose bark is used to treat various ailments like diarrhoea, dysentery, stomach disorders etc. Some of the notable tree species used includes Miliusa tomentosa, Bombax ceiba, Sterculia urens, Grewia asiatica, Garuga pinnata, Azadirachta indica, Buchanania cochinchinensis, Dalbergia latifolia, Acacia catechu, Terminalia arjuna, Ficus exasperata, Ficus benghalensis and Ficus religiosa. Also, documentation is made on mode of administration. Besides using the bark for medicinal purpose, Rathawa inhabitants are also utilizing bark for fibres and other non-medicinal purposes. Few of the tree species are also considered as Sacred and are worshiped by the Rathawa tribe during different religious ceremonies. Present paper is aimed to provide information on utilization patterns of bark for various ethnobotanical purposes.