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@article{209034,
        author = {Santosh Kumar and Dinesh Kumar Bharti},
        title = {Floristic Diversity and Cultural Significance of Traditionally Important Plants of Ayodhya District, Uttar Pradesh, India},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {13},
        number = {5},
        pages = {381-388},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=209034},
        abstract = {Plants associated with religious traditions, cultural practices and indigenous knowledge constitute an important component of biocultural diversity in India. Ayodhya district of Uttar Pradesh represents a culturally significant landscape in which vegetation is closely associated with temples, sacred places, riverbanks, ponds, kunds, gardens, residential areas and rural landscapes. The present study documents the floristic diversity and traditional significance of plants associated with culturally important locations of Ayodhya district. Field-based documentation was undertaken across different habitat categories, including sacred, urban, rural and aquatic/wetland environments. A total of 75 traditionally significant plant species belonging to 44 families were documented. The recorded flora comprised trees, shrubs, herbs, climbers, vines, woody herbs, grasses and aquatic plants, demonstrating considerable ecological and functional diversity. Fabaceae, Poaceae and Moraceae represented prominent families in the documented flora, while several other families contributed multiple culturally important taxa. Representative species included Ocimum tenuiflorum, Ficus religiosa, Ficus benghalensis, Aegle marmelos, Azadirachta indica, Saraca asoca, Nelumbo nucifera, Nymphaea nouchali, Cynodon dactylon, Butea monosperma, Phyllanthus emblica, Piper longum and Madhuca longifolia. The documented plants have significance in religious offerings, ritual practices, traditional medicine, food, household uses and cultural symbolism. The findings indicate that culturally important vegetation in Ayodhya represents more than a collection of useful plants; it constitutes a living component of local biocultural heritage. Conservation of such flora therefore requires integration of botanical documentation, traditional ecological knowledge, habitat protection, sustainable management and community participation. The study provides a baseline for future quantitative ethnobotanical investigations and conservation planning in Ayodhya district.},
        keywords = {Ayodhya, sacred plants, ethnobotany, traditional ecological knowledge, biocultural diversity, religious plants, floristic diversity, plant conservation},
        month = {October},
        }