Flora diversity of Ijero Local Government Area of Ekiti State, South-Western Nigeria

Abstract

In an attempt to keep biodiversity records of our world today, species diversity studies have remained important in the face of climate change and habitat degradation resulting from urbanization and other human activities. Consequently, we surveyed to document the plants of Ijero Local Government Area (Ekiti State), an area that has been poorly studied in South-Western Nigeria. The study area was periodically visited over 18 months and all identified species were carefully documented. One hundred and sixty-three (163) species in forty-six (46) families, one hundred and thirty (130) genera were recorded. These species are represented in seven (7) plant habits. The trees were dominant followed by the herbs, shrubs and climbers. The dominant families were Euphorbiaceae, Asteraceae and Caesalpinaceae, with 17, 13 and 10 species respectively. Asteraceae, Euphorbiaceae, Papilionaceae and Rubiaceae also all had the highest number of genera represented, with 12, 10, 9 and 6 respectively. Generally, the Legumes collectively contributed 25 species (15.3%) of the total enumeration. This study has not only added to the existing records of floristic data in south-western Nigeria, but it is the first of its kind in the study area.