Ethnobotanical surveys were carried out between January 2011 and April 2012 to compile an inventory
of plants used medicinally by people of the Matebele village. A semi-structured questionnaire was used
to collect data on the species used by the villagers. The results show that 65 species (86.1% indigenous
This paper uses the case of the Batswana people to demonstrate the use of indigenous knowledge (IK) on plant species for medicine and food. The study showed that traditionally the Batswana have a rich indigenous knowledge about the plant species diversity of their environment including community uses of the plant species.