Medicinal plants conservation and cultivation by traditional medicine practitioners (TMPs) in Aiyedaade Local Government Area of Osun State, Nigeria

The contribution of Traditional Medicine Practitioners (TMPs) to conservation of medicinal plants and the acceptability of cultivated plants as alternative to wild sources were studied in Aiyedade Local Government area of Osun State, Nigeria. 55 TMPs were randomly selected for interview from 120 registered TMPs in the study area. 94.5 % of the respondents were aware of plant species which had become scarce. Results revealed that 41.3% of plants cultivated in their homesteads were herbs, Shrubs (29.3%), Trees(18.7%) and climbers(10.7%). 51.6% of plants from wild sources were trees while 44.1% of plants bought from herb markets were trees. Correlation between scarcity of medicinal plants and travel distance to collect plant materials by TMPs was positive (0.278, ρ < 0.05), problems associated with cultivation such as land and collection from the wild was equally positive (0.358, ρ < 0.01). Sustainable harvesting and deliberate cultivation have been proposed to ensure continued supply of medicinal plants to meet the health care needs of rural dwellers in the study area.