The Khumi Ethnobotany

The Khumi community living in the Bandarban district of Bangladesh has long been an admiration of utilizes plants around them for various purposes and they depend on nature in their daily life. This dependency makes them aware of and utilize plants around them. They use the plants or plant parts for various purposes viz. medicine, food, shelter, clothing, dye, cosmetics, household articles, and crafts. They have also unique knowledge of edible plants. An ethnobotanical survey is carried out on the utilization of plants by the Khumi community of Bandarban districts, Bangladesh. The information has been documented by interviewing traditional herbalists, and various elderly men and women following different ethnobotanical methods. Data on 204 plant species with tribal names have been documented which are used for treating 42 diseases/illnesses and along with fruit, vegetable, ornamental, dye, additive, timber and other uses. These species, belonging to 174 genera under 76 families are listed alphabetically, each with vernacular names, English names, methods of preparation and mode of use. Each plant is also provided with its short botanical description.