This research was conducted in Amaro and Gelana districts in southern Ethiopia to study the plant diversity and traditionalrnmedicinal and wild edible plants. The study was carried out between August 2013 and April 2016. Vegetation data wererncollected from 140 relevÃ©s using a square plot of 400 m2 (20 m x 20 m) for trees; 5 m x 5 m and 1 m x 1 m subplots forrnshrubs and herbs respectively within each relevÃ©s. Ethnobotanical data were collected by interviewing 380 informants (200rnmales and 180 females) aged 18-75 years where 120 were key informants. Ethnobotanical knowledge of traditional plantsrnused as human and veterinary medicine and food was obtained using semi-structured interview administered through faceto-rnface interaction with the informants. Agglomerative hierarchical classification in R package version R 3.3.2 softwarernwas used to identify plant communities and synoptic values were used for identification of the dominant species for namingrneach plant community. Shannon-Weiner diversity index was applied to quantify species diversity and richness. Quantitativernanalytical tools for ethnobotanical methods including simple preference ranking, pair-wise ranking, direct matrix ranking,rninformant consensus factor (ICF) and fidelity level (FL) were employed. Ethnobotanical knowledge held by differentrninformant categories was compared. One hundred eighty species belonging to 121 genera and 58 families wererndocumented of which 140 and 107 were from Amaro and Gelana districts respectively. Out of the whole plant species, eightrnwere found Ethiopian endemic. The Asteraceae and Fabaceae stood first contributing 15 (8.33%) species each followed byrnthe Lamiaceae (12, 6.66%). Five plant community types were identified in each District. A total of 147 plant species werernrecorded that are used to treat 66 human and 28 livestock ailments in the two districts. Of the total species, 90 (61.22%) ofrnthem were obtained from natural habitats. The families best represented were Fabaceae and Lamiaceae 12 (8.16%) speciesrneach followed by Asteraceae (11, 7.48% species). Of the total number of medicinal plants, 112 (76.19%) species werernreported to be used to treat human ailments and 42 (28.57%) for livestock ailments. Herbs were the most widely usedrnplants, accounting for 63 (42.85%) species. Common diseases in the study area were wound for which 19 (7.88%) speciesrnwere reported and 15 (6.22%) species for stomachache. The local people of Amaro and Gelana districts use Myricarnsalicifolia to treat the highest number (10, 4.14%) of ailments followed by Phytolacca dodecandera and Solanum incanumrn7 (2.90%) each. The most frequently used plant parts were leaves (93, 38.58%) followed by roots (41, 17.01%). The mostrnwidely used method of preparation of traditional herbal medicines was decoction (58, 24.06%). The majority (216, 89.62%)rnof remedies were prepared from freshly collected plant parts. The common route of administration was oral (133, 53.18%)rnfollowed by dermal (77, 31.95%). The most cited medicinal plants were Acmella caulirhiza 51 (3.58%) and Agaristarnsalicifolia 44 (3.09%). Highest ICF values were recorded in Amaro District for rabies; and the highest FL values of humanrnmedicinal plants were recorded for Echinops kebericho (100%) against breast cancer. In Gelana District, the ailmentsrnbleeding and hypertension scored the highest ICF value (0.96) and the highest FL values were obtained for Rumexrnabyssinicus (100%) against Ascariasis. Myrica salicifolia was the most preferred species to treat stomachache of humanrnbeings while Hagenia abyssinica was the most utilized medicinal plant species in Amaro District. Most of the medicinalrnplants were not widely traded for medicinal purposes, but mostly for other non-medicinal uses. The highest averagernnumber of medicinal plants was cited by men (77, 52.38%), by older people (84, 57.14%) and by illiterate people (76,rn51.70%). The highest Shannon-Wiener diversity range values of medicinal species were 3.90 and 3.67 for community IIIrnand IV in Nekora and Dance forest, respectively. The two districts furnished 80 plant species consumed wild by therncommunity and the plant species belong to 52 genera and 32 families. The Fabaceae with ten (12.5%) and Tiliaceae withrnfive (6.25%) species were the most represented families with high number of WEPs. Most of the WEPS were shrubsrnrepresented with 34 (42.50%) species. Fruit was found to be the most edible plant part, accounting for 54 (67.50%) species,rnand mostly taken as raw. Of the reported medicinal and wild edible plant species, 63 species were reported for more thanrntwo uses. The group discussions and pair wise ranking results indicated that agricultural expansion was the principalrnfactor threatening medicinal and WEPs in the study area. The forests, medicinal and wild edible plants in Amaro andrnGelana districts are under pressure due mainly to ever-increasing anthropogenic influences. There is an urgent need forrnestablishment of community based forest priority area (park) in the districts for conservation of forest in general andrnmedicinal and wild edible plants in particular.rnKey words: Amaro, ethnobotany, floristic composition, fidelity level, Gelana, informant consensus, wild edible plants