Ethnobotanical investigations were conducted at Xobe
and Shorobe Villages in northwestern Botswana to identify
woody plants used by the local people. A total of 90
households (35 in Xobe and 55 in Shorobe) were interviewed
using a semi-structured questionnaire and personal
interviews. A total of 38 woody species representing
16 families and 25 genera were recorded. Of these,
28 species representing 15 families and 22 genera were
recorded from Shorobe, and 27 species representing 10
families and 15 genera were recorded from Xobe. The
uses of woody plants were grouped into eight categories,
namely construction, fuelwood, furniture, medicine, human
food, fodder, farm implements, and shade. Several
of the species are used for more than one purpose. At
both study sites, the use category with the highest proportion
of number of woody species and proportion among
the use categories was human food. Thirteen of the families
were represented by 23 woody species that are used
for medicinal purposes, and the most commonly used
plant parts were the roots, bark, leaves, and stems. Nine
of the 28 woody species (28%) in Shorobe and nine of the
27 woody species (33.3%) in Xobe provide edible parts.
Six (21%) and eight (30%) woody species recorded in
Shorobe and Xobe, respectively, are used for construction
purposes. Most plants are used as fuelwood for household
energy generation. In spite of the scarcity of natural
forests in the study areas, the local communities continue
to depend on the indigenous woody species in their surroundings
for their survival. Virtually all trees identified in
the different families are useful in one way or another in
the lives of the rural communities, with most of the species
serving more than one function. There is, therefore, a
need for cultivation, protection, and sustainable management of these valuable resources for sustaining rural livelihoods
in the study sites.