Vegetos
(An International Journal of Plant Research & Biotechnology)
Documentation of ethnobotany: a source for conservation plan of Medicinal plant species in alpine region of Madhmaheshwar, Uttarakhand, India
Research Articles | Published: 10 October, 2022
First Page: 989
Last Page: 998
Views: 2602
Keywords: Madhmaheshwar valley, Alpine area, Ethnobotany, Traditional, Himalayan plants
Abstract
Madhmaheshwar is a floristically diverse valley in Uttrakhand, India where local people particularly tribals are dependent on wild plants and have a vast ethnobotanical knowledge. The ethnobotanical knowledge among the tribals and local people gets transmitted through oral dialogue, therefore needs to be documented. During the study, questionnaire has been used to document the ethnobotanical information and statistically analyzed using ethnobotanical indices. The present work documented 59 plant species which were distributed in 50 genera under 29 families from 43 informants. Maximum number of species are used to cure gastro-intestinal and dermatological disorders. Paste and decoction are the most popular recipes among the documented species and Asteraceae (13.55%) and Ranunculaceae (8.47%) are the dominant families in ethnobotanical usage. Picrorhiza kurroa, Arnebia benthamii, Rheum webbianum and Podophyllum hexandrum with high Use Value are the most dominant species to be used by the inhabitants of the study area. High degree of factor informant consensus values indicates significant homogeneity and transmittance of knowledge among the people of study area.
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Author Information
Department of Botany and Microbiology, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar (Garhwal), India