INTRODUCTION The use of aromatic plants has been out of focus throughout the history. At present, this is a popular treatment strategy for a variety of ailments. According to WHO estimate, about 80% of the population in developing countries depends directly on plants for its medication (Kosalge and Fursule, 2009). India has a rich assortment of diversity of medicinal and aromatic plants distributed in different geographical and ecological conditions in the country. Out of total 17,500 species of flowering plants in India only 1300 species are of aromatic nature (Uniyal et al., 2002). In present study an attempt has been made to collect the aromatic plants from different forests of Gorakhpur division with their collection number. Besides, observation on habit, habitat, local name, flowering/fruiting and medicinal uses in human welfare have also been made. Study area and Vegetations The forests taken in present investigation are situated in Eastern part of Uttar Pradesh between latitude of 27º05’ to 27º25’ North and longitude of 83º20’ to 84º10’ East. The division comprises Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar and Deoria districts. Out of which forests are only situated in Maharajganj and Gorakhpur districts. The soil of this area is gangatic alluvial brought down by rivers like Ghaghara, Rapti, Rohin and Gandak from the Himalayas. The rainfall varies considerably from year to year. The monsoon rains commence during June and come to an end in September but may persist till October. The minimum temperature goes down to 6ºC in the month of January & maximum up to 43ºC in the month of June. The Gorakhpur Division is a tarai region has dense forest covers close to the foothills of Himalayas. All the forests of Gorakhpur Division including Achalgarh, Banki, Campierganj, Chowk, Kushmahawa, Kushmahi, Lehradevi, Madanpur (out of Gorakhpur Division), Madhualia, Nichlaul, Pakari, Tehrighat and Tilkonia are rich in species composition of higher plants. The vegetation of forests consists of herbs, shrubs, trees and climbers. Trees, shrubs and climbers occur throughout the year and form permanent vegetation, while herbaceous plants mostly appearing during rainy season, decreasing during winter and finally become depleted in peak summer. METHODOLOGY The present work is based on an intensive survey of aromatic plants of Gorakhpur Division during 2006-2009; in which periodic excursions were made and aromatic plants were collected in flowering and fruiting conditions. The dominance of aromatic plants was recorded on visual basis for presence and absence of species. The plant specimens were assigned collection numbers; their localities and other necessary field information were recorded in field data book. During visit local name, medicinal and traditional uses of plants by native people were noted on the spot and confirmed with the help of literature. The specimens were pressed dried, prepared herbarium and identified using floras (Srivastava, 1976; Singh et al., 2000) as well as by matching their specimens lodged in departmental herbarium of Gorakhpur University and BSI (NRC) Dehradun. The herbarium of collected plants was deposited to BSI, Dehradun. Enumeration of aromatic plant species Aromatic plant species collected from forests of Gorakhpur division are enumerated here alphabetically along with common name and mode of application. Acorus calamus Linn. (Bach) A semi aquatic, rhizomatous perennial herb, rhizome creeping, much branched, cylindrical, light brown, white and Diversity and distribution of aromatic plants in forests of Gorakhpur division, U.P., India Abhay K. Pandey and N.N. Tripathi Bacteriology & Natural Pesticide Laboratory, Department of Botany, DDU Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur (U.P.) ABSTRACT : A field survey of wild aromatic plants distributed in forests of Gorakhpur division indicates 44 species of aromatic plants that belong to 32 genera and 14 families. Of which many are being used in day to day medical therapy. In addition to this the richest period for flowering and fruiting in aromatic plants was Dec.-April. Out of 14 families studied Asteraceae occupied top most position; however Araceae, Cannabinaceae, Capparidaceae, Chenopodiaceae and Polygonaceae represented only one species of each. This study indicates that the area harbors a high diversity of aromatic plants and their application as medicines may be exploited. Keywords: Aromatic plants, forests, medicinal value. ISSN : 0975-1130 Biological Forum — An International Journal, 2(2): 25-33(2010)