Biodiversity and Ethnobotany of Sacred Groves in Bankura District, West Bengal

Investigations were carried out in 26 sacred groves of the district of Bankura of West Bengal during 2006 to 2007. 114 plant species were recorded from those groves including 102 dicots and 12 monocots. Among them, species of trees were 62, shrubs 14, herbs 23, lianas 04, climbers 10, epiphytes 01. Sacred groves totally cover an area of 8.2 hectares. The major tribal groups in those areas are Santals and Koramudis; others are Bedias and Mahalis. Main festival of Santals is 'Sarul' under the canopy of Shorea robusta. The festival 'Ashari' is performed before planting and 'Maghi' after harvesting of Paddy (Oryza sativa) are common to all tribes. The dominant tree species observed were Shorea robusta, Butea monosperma and Madhuca longifolia var. latifolia. The dominant family in the study area was Combretaceae with 07 species. But the family Dipterocarpaceae has maximum number of individuals (181). Papilionaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Rubiaceae also have good representation. These groves are good reserves of 28 medicinal plants. About 60% of trees were confined to the height class 10 to 15 m and 40% were less than 15 to 20 m. Likewise 30% trees were under girth class of 3 m, 15% were less than 6 m. The floristic diversity was found to be 0.99. Importance Value Index (IVI) of Shorea robusta has 38.94; other sub-dominant forms like Butea monosperma have 22.04, Madhuca longifolia var. latifolia have 21.13, and Holoptelea integrifolia have 15.17. To maintain the functions, values and attributes of sacred groves effective conservation and management practices are required.