Abstract
Kappath hill is a dry area with low rainfall, high temperature and consequently the soil is poor on hilltops and improves in valleys and lower slopes. The soils in the valleys are highly fertile but the productivity is limited by the scanty rain fall received. The flora of Kappath Gudda (Hills) comprising a grand total of 538 species belonging to 294 genera and 91 families of flowering pl
ants. The vegetation in the district is comparable to Southern Thorn Forests. The distribution of the forests is generally scattered. The present investigation on the Phytodiversity Studies of Kappath hill have yielded one species recollected after a long gap of nine decades, one rare and two endemic species for the district. Among the total number of species collected in the study area, 94 species belongs 47 families are medicinal plants. An analysis of the largest numbers of genera and species within each family indicates that out of 108 families, Poaceae family represented highest number of genera (49), Family Fabaceae having highest (68) number of species. The genus Indigofera having highest number of species (14) and varieties (4). In addition, 58 species represented as Key stone species. NTFP species (89) includes edible fruit (21), followed by dye yielding plants (11), country vine preparation and fire wood species (2), fodder species (13), vegetable species (8), and timber yielding species (23). They are 4 sacred groves in the study area and 13 species are sacred plants.
