The undivided Kalahandi district was a grand repository of vegetable wealth of which medicinal plants were plentiful. Of the 62 tribes inhabiting in Orissa, about 54 tribes are present in this region since they are utilising various forest products to meet the necessities of life sustenance. However, in course of time the forest cover has been reduced mostly due to over exploitation of woody elements. One of the important aspects of tribal lifestyle is utilisation of indigenous medicinal plants to cure various ailments. Due to depletion of medicinal plants there is also shrinkage of this knowledge among them. Hence, a floristic exploration of medicinal plants has been launched upon during 1997-1999. This has yielded 229 angiospermic species under 197 genera belonging to 76 families. These have been properly identified and are preserved in the form of herbarium specimens in the P.G. Department of Botany, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar. Their nomenclatures have been updated. In the present checklist, the species are arranged alphabetically with corresponding families and local Oriya names. Different parts used to cure diseases have also been appended. Need for the conservation of rare and less known medicinal plants has been highlighted.

The spice family Zingiberaceae comprised of 53 genera and over 1400 species is distributed throughout the world. The family is economically most important for spice, medicines, essential oil, dye, oleoresin and also few of them are used as vegetables as well as garden plants. Orissa records only 9 genera and 24 species wildly growing in different forest areas belonging to this family. Regional Research Laboratory has been trying to collect the germplasm of zingiberaceous plants and develop the agrotechnology of their large scale cultivation. This paper includes the enumeration of these species, their present status and distribution,vernacular name, uses, flowering as well as ecology.

A survey conducted to elucidate the different plant species (32 numbers) pertains to their insect repellent activities from the folklore and literature of Orissa state based on medicinal, ecological and tantric philosophy. The paper highlights on the use of root, stem bark, leaf, flower, raw juice, fumigant and contact keeping of plants/plant parts in various agricultural, medicinal, veterinary and household uses, as insect repellent species.

In the present communication three infrageneric taxa have been enumerated as new records for the State of Orissa.

Twentyfour plant species with less known medicinal or medico-religious uses ractised by the tribals of Phulbani district, Orissa are reported alongwith local names and mode of administration.

The prestine mangrove resources of Orissa were remarkable. However, paradoxically due to lack of knowledge regarding their judicious exploitation and high socio-economic value, the mangrove biota were neglected and were ruthlessly devastated, in order to meet the various requirements of the nearby inhabitants.Reclamation of mangrove forest land for the settlement of immigrants, paddy cultivation and prawn culture have accelerated the depletion of mangrove biota. In recent time, mangrove conservation vis-a-vis prawn culture has become a debatable issue in Orissa.

As per an estimate provided by satellite data (LANDSATTMF) the total mangrove spread in Devi-Mahanadi Brahmani Baitarani - Subarnarekha deltaic complex sustained 217.93 Sq. Kms of mangrove in 1985 which has degraded to 199.19 sq.Kms in 1993 as per a report by (IRSLISSIIFCC) organisation. Hence, there is a significant depletion of 17.93 Sq. Kms of mangrove coverage during a period of eight years. And it is further degraded to 195 Sq. Kms in 1995 (Misra, 1999). Notwithstanding the variability in respect of the mangrove coverage in Orissa given by various agencies or research institutes it is evident that this plant community is degrading at an alarming rate (Map No. 1).

Yet, it is high time to develop appropriate strategies for sustainable exploitation of the mangrove biota which has got a significant bearing on the socio-economic development of the Orissa state. Concurrently, effective steps should be adopted for the natural regeneration of the mangrove taxa in the denuded area simply by giving protection. This should be supplemented with rehabilitation of the mangrove species basing on multidisciplinary scientific research data. In otherb words, conservation and judicious utilisation of the mangrove resources should proceed in a harmonious manner.