Home Garden with different species of medicinal plants
Eighty percent of the Ethiopian people depend on traditional medicine for their health care, and more than 95% of traditional medicinal preparations in Ethiopia are made from plant origin. There are about 887 medicinal plant species that are currently used by the Ethiopian people. The majority of the medicinal plants are herbs, followed by shrubs and trees (Table 1). Twenty four (2.7%) medicinal plant species are endemic to Ethiopia. Most of the medicinal plant species are found in the wild (Table 2) and therefore, the threats and trends are similar to those of the forest plant species.
Table 1. Distribution of the medicinal plants by their growth forms
| Growth habit |
No. of species |
Percent |
| Herbs |
271 |
30.5 |
| Shrubs |
168 |
19.0 |
| Trees |
110 |
12.4 |
| Climbers |
74 |
8.3 |
| Reed |
2 |
0.2 |
| Unidentified |
262 |
29.6 |
Table 2. Distribution of medicinal plants by their state of existence
| State of existence |
No. of species |
Percent |
| Wild |
357 |
40.2 |
| Cultivated |
89 |
10 |
| Weed |
52 |
5.9 |
| Undetermined |
389 |
43.9 |
Source: Ethiopia’s CBD 4th Country Report
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