No abstract

Ethnobotanical study on the plant species used for storage was carried out within forty communities in Bayelsa State. Eight plant species belonged to six different families were identified as botanicals valued for storage and preservative purposes, most of which are herbs. The result revealed that the plant species identified were alleged to be safe, available and exhibit different growth habits. However, two of the species (Braschystegia nigerica and Xylopia aethiopica) are trees, and are rare as they served other primary uses. Different sections of the plant species were extracted for storage purposes, and members of Marantaceae were the most exploited for storage. As the pattern of plants use among locals becomes ecologically unsustainable, there is a need to document the floras use for storage purposes and determine their abundant status in the State.

Plant species used as spices in Bayelsa State, Nigeria, were assessed in this study. A total of twenty four spicy plants were identified. This included a fungal species and twenty three plant species. These species were of diverse life forms (25% trees; 8% shrubs, 58% herbs and 4% grasses). The study also revealed that the spicy plants identified were heterogeneously distributed across the three senatorial zones of the State. Fruits/seeds were the most utilized parts of the indigenous spicy plants identified. 63% of the identified spicy plants were sourced from the wild and 38% were cultivated in the State. Parts of the plants utilized for spices were fruits, seeds, leaves, shoots, bulbs, rhizomes and in some cases the entire-part. Fruits and seeds dominated the parts used (46%), while rhizome and the entire-parts were the least utilized parts (4%) for spices in the study area. Most of the methods employed in harvesting the spicy plants were annihilative and inhibitory. Also environmental pollution among other factors threatens the existence of the spicy plants growing in the wild in the study area. In conclusion conservational strategies that will ensure sustainable use of the identified spicy plant species were proposed.