! "#$#% &’(# )*+,*&"&- *./) 01,)&-) .)/ ,2 3&33& 4 *5&/.6 /*"* 5 *+6& ./ ) 7 ,2 * *+6& &/ &+ abc Department of Botany, Catholicate College, Pathanamthitta, Kerala, India d Department of Botany, Baselius College, Kottayam, Kerala, India &,*&"* )(#7#8 ( ’8 #9 !#($ 7: (’; 7% $! *( 9#;# $ ( $$ : %( 9#; ( 3<< 7! #;;’ *=’; / 3! & )(#7#! ’=8 : #’ # #!! 9#;# 7#’ 0%7! % $$#( #9 7#! #!!# %#’$ ’# =: :( >’# ’% ’!8 # $;7 /’% ( $ ’8 #! #9 )(#7#!!8 ;$# 0%7! 7!#%% # 9;! =? 0%7 6 6’ " "# (= 7 #’; *( $! : ’ # =#’ !< #;( $ < $#7!; <8 # 7!## $’9# !# 9# ( $$# #9 9## ; #; $! (= $!! $#$8 *( !; # $#$ #9 $! 7 #9; 78 #’% $(8#(;! !8 3)2@/: Ethnobotany, Zingiberales, Kanikkar, Trivandrum, Kerala Ethnobotany is the Science that studies about interrelationship between local communities and the natural environment, especially the system of knowledge about the natural resources of plants (Walujo, 2000). Traditional medicine still remains the main resource for majority (80%) of people in developing countries for treating health problems, particularly because medicinal plants are accessible and cheap (Nyamanga et al. 2008; Motlhanka et al. 2006). The quality of life and conservation of natural resources have had more success when based on the local knowledge and current patterns of resource use within the involved communities (IES, 1995). Fieldwork in tribal areas and the analysis of different tribal folklores are effective methods by which ethnobotanical research can be conducted (Jain, 1989). The main objective of this study was to assess the diversity of Ethnomedicinal plants used by Kani tribes and document the traditional medicinal practices followed in healing ailments. Similar Ethnobotanical studies have been reported in several parts of India to document the traditional knowledge that has been vanishing (Rajan et al. 2002; Ganesan et al. 2004; Ignacimuthu et al. 2006; Sandhya et al. 2006). Kanikkar are distributed mainly in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam Districts and adjoining areas of Tamil Nadu. They were called Kanikkar by the sage Agastya, signifying ‘hereditary proprietor of the land’. Kani means land and Karan means owner. Their spoken language exhibits features both Malayalam and Tamil. The ‘Kanikudi or Kanipat’(settlement) is the basic unit of social, economic, political and religious organization. Earlier they subsisted on hunting, minor forest produce collection and cultivation. Now they practice settled agriculture like cultivation of rice and tapioca. Kanikkar live in the plain areas along with other communities have improved much in their lifestyle while those living in the interior forests called ‘malamkanis’ are still deprived of the basic amenities of life. Kanikkar community is mainly distributed in 8 Grama panchayats in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam Districts (Census report issued by Gov. of Kerala, 2013). The primary tropical Zingiberales include many conspicuous taxa, such as the bananas (Musaceae), birds of Paradise (Strelitziaceae), Heliconias (Heliconiacae) and Gingers (Zingiberaceae) (Kress et al. 2002). Zingiberales are monophyletic clade of eight families and they are almost entirely restricted to tropical regions (Kress, 1990). The order Zingiberales are with immense medicinal values is distributed widely throughout the tropics, particularly in Southeast Asia. Among Zingiberales, Zingiberaceae family is important include many natural resource that provides useful products for food, spices, medicines, dyes, perfume and aesthetics (Jantan et al. 2003). 6&*)&- &/ 6)*+/ The Ethanobotanical studies were conducted in three places of Trivandrum District Amboori, Pachamala and Vithura during July to September 2017. The field trips were carried out to villages and areas inhabited by tribal people. The data were collected by group discussions, direct interaction and personal interviews. The acquired data were crossCchecked by using available literature. All doubtful and misleading information where the informants showed little knowledge