Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of Sirumalai Hills

Sirumalai, locally known as small hill located in Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu and lying between 10˚07’-10˚18’ N and 77˚55’-78˚12’ E. Sirumalai is an isolated compact group of hills which extends between 6.5 km south of Dindigul town and 22.5 km north of Madurai city.Medicinal and Aromatic plants (MAPs) are produced and offered in a wide variety of products, from crude materials to processed and packaged products like pharmaceuticals, herbal remedies, tea, spirits, cosmetics, sweets, dietary supplements, varnishes and insecticides. There were 235 species of medicinal and aromatic plants belonging to 202 genera and 87 families reported from the different forest areas of Sirumalai hills. Among the 235 species, 178 medicinal plants and 57 medicinal and aromatic plants were included. The plants were reported with its common/vernacular name, morphology of parts used, description, chemical constituents and medicinal / commercial properties. There were 93 trees, 34 shrubs, 85 herbs, 22 climbers and one epiphyte with medicinal properties reported from the present survey.The present survey also will helpful for the conservation and sustainable utilization of these species