INVENTORY AND ETYMOLOGY OF PLANTS OF TROPICAL RAINFOREST AND THE NEED FOR CONSERVATION AROUND ELELE OKINI-ALI, IKWERRE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

The inventory and etymological assessment of plants growing in the tropical rainforest of Elele Okini-Ali, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria, were conducted. The aim was to document the species richness, etymology and diversity of the area to help develop strategies for conservation. In the field, four 60 x 60 meters line transect was developed and all the plant species occurring 3 meters sideways were sampled. Pictures of some unknown species were harvested and taken to the Department of Plant and Ecological Studies Dennis Osadebay University Asaba for proper authentication. To enhance understanding of species identity while mitigating the loss of species local names to foster conservation, interview with herbal practitioners were conducted. A total of 139 plants in 67 taxonomic families were recorded with diversity index of 4.44 and equitability index of 0.89. Euphorbiaceae recorded the highest number of species; followed by Asteraceae, and Rubiaceae while Aristolochiaceae and Asclepiadaceae recorded the least. Elaeis guineensis recorded the highest frequency of occurrence, followed by Anthonotha macrophylla while Albizia zygia and Anthocleista djalonensis among others recorded the least. Herbs were the dominant plant habit (33.09%), followed by trees (29.49%), shrubs (23.02%), climbers (5.04%), lianas (3.59%), runners (2.16%), creepers and ferns recorded two species each, accounting for 1.44% respectively while epiphytes (0.79%) recorded the least. The total individual abundance of 1,028 with eight threatened species was reported. The status of species richness, diversity and distribution was satisfactory as such more studies are recommended around this area to enhance species conservation.