Popularity, Distribution and Conservation Status of Sacred and Medicinal Indigenous Trees in Chemosot, Kericho County, Kenya

Abstract

Comprehensive data on sacred and medicinal plants of communities in Kenya are scarce. Such plants are increasingly being threatened by loss of cultural knowledge, indigenous belief systems and collapse of traditional botanical management. The current study aimed at assessing the popularity, distribution, and conservation status of traditionally important sacred and medicinal plants at Chemosot Ward in Kericho county. Ethnobotanical data was collected from interviewing 83 land-owners using the Kipsigis language and 10 local experts, while the diversity, number and distribution of sacred and medicinal trees was collected from 10 transects using systematic random sampling. Results document a total of 35 species of sacred and medicinal indigenous tree species, of which 27 were medicinal, two were sacred, and six were both sacred and medicinal. There was a higher number of species in farmlands than along roadsides while riparian areas had the lowest number of species. Three species were identified as critically endangered (Ekebergia capensis, Carissa spinarum, and Trimeria grandifolia), 11 as endangered, two as rare while nine more were identified as vulnerable. In conclusion, the study confirms the bi-purpose (sacred and medicinal) role of trees in the Kipsigis community and that several of these culturally important trees may be highly threatened locally. It is therefore recommended that additional research be conducted to further determine the influence of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) on the conservation status of sacred and medicinal indigenous tree species.