Himachal Pradesh is situated in north India between 300 22’ to 330 12’ N latitudes and 750 47’’ to 790 04’ E longitudes within the Western Himalayas in northern India. The elevation varies from 450 meters to more than 7,026 meters above the mean sea level. Tribal and indigenous communities of Himachal Pradesh are associated with collection of wild mushrooms for edible, medicinal and sale purpose. The Morels (Morchella spp.) are fungi belong to family Morchellaceae commonly known as Guchhi in Himachal Pradesh. The traditional people of Himachal Himalayan Region (HHR) cooked it as food and used in medicine and health care system. Traditionally, it has been used for gastric problems, as a tonic, to cure cuts and wounds, and reduce joint pain. The native people gather it from the forest regions and sold it to nearby merchants after drying it at home. Presence of nutrients like amino acids, vitamins and minerals, the Guchhi mushrooms are in high demand not only in India but also in various foreign markets such as Switzerland, France, the USA, Italy etc. Commercial cultivation of Guchhi mushrooms will help rural masses and farmers obtain benefits due to their high demand.

Cinnamomum cassia (L.) J.Preslstem bark is one of the most popular spice used for cooking as well as in traditional and modern medicines. C.cassiais a tree of tropical region of Lauraceae family, commonly known as Chinese cinnamon. Bark has been used as anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-obesity, mosquito larvicidal, anti-diabetic, antitumour, anti-tyrosinase activity and cardiovascular protective.Traditionally, it is used to cure dental problems, oral microbiota, and bad breath.In Indian traditional medicine, especially in Unani and Ayurveda, the bark is used medicinally to treat a various of illnesses, including diarrhoea, kidney pain, cough & cold, cobra bite, headaches, acne, dysuria, burning micturition, indigestion, weakness of liver, amenorrhea, fungal infection, weakness of liver and for the management of sexual dysfunction. Pharmacognostic studies help to validate crude drugs and set standardization parameters that can assist in the prevention of adulteration. The present study will help to set the specific macro-microscopicand physico-chemical parameters to identity C. cassia stem bark which certainly assurance the quality of crude drug and will definitely help in standardization of various traditional herbal formulations containing C.cassia stem bark as ingredient.

Seed of Areca catechu commonly known as ‘Areca nut’ or ‘Betel nut’ belongs to Arecaceae family. It is native to Malaysia and cultivated in subtropical region of South China and India for their economically important seed crop. Areca nut is reddish to light yellowish brown, hard, ovoid, ellipsoidal or globose, internally are mottled with ruminated brownish endosperm tissue alternating with white tissue. In the Indian traditional medicine system Areca nut has been considered one of the important single drug which is therapeutically useful in a number of formulations of Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani preparation. The presence of bioactive phytochemicals in medicinal plants is mainly responsible for various pharmacological properties. It has been widely accepted that medicinal plants are safe and effective treatments for various diseases and ailments. Several pharmacological activities such as antimycotic, antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, hypoglycemic and antioxidant activities are attributed to it. In classical literature of Unani system of medicine, Areca nut is commonly called ‘Fufal’ and considered astringent, diuretic, emmenogogue, nervine tonic. Local application is useful in acute inflammation, trachoma, sialorrhea, gingivitis and as a tonic for heart. In the current scenario, standardizing herbal materials at a rapid pace has become a major challenge due to the growing demand for herbal medicines. Although herbal drugs are generally effective, and their effectiveness can be impacted by adulteration and lack of standardization. The present study is focused on authentication of the Areca nut by developing different pharmacognostic standards such as macroscopy, microscopy, physicochemical analysis and HPTLC fingerprinting. The majority of the market sample are either contaminated by cancer-causing fungi or adulterated with harmful chemicals, pesticides, and heavy metals that known to cause several health problems on human beings. So, the drug was also evaluated for several quality parameters, like heavy metals, microbial load, aflatoxins, and pesticides. The current study data can serve as reference standards for verifying Areca nut's purity, safety, and effectiveness.

An attempt has been made to explore the wild edible plants (WEPs) of Spiti Valley, a cold desert region in Trans Himalaya. The Spiti Valley is inhabited by the Bhotia or Bhot tribal community and largely depends on wild resources to meet day-to-day needs. During the study, extensive field surveys were conducted from 2012 to 2017 in different localities of the valley. A total of 65 plant species belonging to 45 genera and 21 families were collected. A questionnaire was developed and first-hand information was gathered by conducting interviews of native people. These plants were consumed either raw and/or cooked. Leaves were the most harvested parts (37 sps.) followed by fruits (11 each sps.), roots (10 each sps.), seeds (6 sps.), inflorescence (4 sps.), aerial part (3 sps.), whole plant (3 sps.), bulb (2 sps. each). The habitat of most of the plant species has shrunk due to environmental degradation primarily due to heavy livestock grazing, the uncontrolled and unscientific harvest of species, unregulated tourism, and the construction of roads etc. Thus, community participation is the suggested solution for the conservation and sustainable use of the wild edible plants in the study area.

Humans have been using medicinal plants in the treatment of various diseases since prehistoric times. Due to the presence of bioactive phytochemicals, medicinal plants have always been considered as safe and effective treatment of several diseases and ailments. In last two decades, the herbal drug market has increased manifold. Due to constantly increasing demand, there is dire need of standardization of herbal drugs in order to make them safer and more effective. Pterocarpus marsupium is one such large deciduous tree which contains tremendous medicinal values. The heartwood of Pterocarpus marsupium was studied through HPTLC fingerprinting and assorted pharmacognostical parameters such as Microscopy, Macroscopy and Physico-chemical analysis. The drug has also been put through multiple quality control parameters such as determination of heavy metals, microbial load, aflatoxins and pesticide residues for thorough assessment of quality of the drug. The data generated can be fruitful for laying down the pharmacopeial standards of heartwood of Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb.

The current study was assessed with the aim to explore the most important plant resources growing in the Sangla Valley region of the Indian Northwest Himalaya. Data were collected during 2011–2017 at 1800–4600 m altitudes to the assess plant resources, their pre-existing traditional information and documentation of ethnomedicinal utilization. In this study, a total of 320 important plant species of 202 genera belonging to 70 families were reported. Of these, angiosperms were found as a dominant group consisting of 302 species, 192 genera, and 63 families. Whereas gymnosperms having 13 species, 7 genera, and 4 families and represented as a sub-dominant group. Conversely, pteridophytes contain a minimum number of 5 species belonging to 3 genera and 3 families. All these reported plants were distributed in different life forms like trees (29 spp.), shrubs (42 spp.), and herbs (249 spp.). Out of 70 families of angiosperm, Asteraceae (49 spp.), Rosaceae (20 spp.), Apiaceae (18 spp.), Ranunculaceae (18 spp.), and Fabaceae (14 spp.) families were found as dominant. Of which, 25 families were recorded as a monotypic represented by only a single species. Out of 202 genera, Artemisia (7 spp.), Saussurea (6 spp.), Anaphalis, Berberis, Rosa, Thalictrum (5 spp. each) and Bupleurum, Geranium, Juniperus, Lactuca, Nepeta, Persicaria, Poa, Polygonum, Potentilla, Salix (4 spp. each) were recorded as dominant genera. Other 14 and 34 genera represented only 3 and 2 species, respectively, and remaining 138 genera were represented only a single species. Out of 320 species, 182 were native to the Himalayan region and the remaining were non-natives as they were from different biogeographic domains of the world. Many plant species were recorded as endemic (45 spp.) and near endemic (185 spp.). Whereas 5 critically endangered, 11 endangered, and 10 vulnerable species were recorded. Consequently, the presented data reflects the significance of the Sangla Valley region with great diversity of medicinal plant resources.

In the Ayurvedic, Siddha and Unani (ASU) systems of medicine, Salix alba L. is used as a remedy for a number of illnesses like rheumatic inflammation, painful muscles, fever, diarrhea, jaundice, gout, leucoderma (vitiligo), jaundice, etc. The current study revealed macro-, micromorphology, powder microscopy, physicochemical, high-performance thin layer chromatography and quality control factors studies to authenticate and standardize the leaf of S. alba. The microscopic analysis of powder drug showed various identification characters such as trichomes, druses of calcium oxalate crystals, crystal fibers, etc. Whereas, different physicochemical parameters like moisture content, total ash, acid-insoluble ash, water-soluble ash, alcohol extractive, and water extractive were also standardized within permitted limits. Likewise, all quality control factors, including heavy metals, microbiological load, aflatoxins, and pesticide residue were determined to be within acceptable ranges, evidencing that the use of Salix alba leaf is safe and lacks of dangerous toxins. The purposeful and unintentional use of adulterants and substitutes are regular malpractices in the trade of herbal raw materials. As a result, this study helps to fix the standards for S. alba leaf, which can help in preventing drug adulteration, substitution, incorrect identification, and authentication.

Ethno-medicinal survey was undertaken from traditional healers of Bhutia tribal community of Urrarkashi district for the use of medicinal plants in the treatment of different skin diseases such as dog and insect bite, burns, eczema, abscesses, scabies, ringworm, cuts and wounds, boils, leprosy, blisters, allergy, itching, pimples, leucoderma, prickly heat, warts, septic ulcers, and other skin diseases during different season of March 2016 to May 2017. The indigenous knowledge of tribal traditional healers having practical knowledge of plants in medicine were interviewed in ve villages of Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand and plants used for medicinal purposes were collected through questionnaire and personal interviews during eldtrips. A total of 60 plant species of 43 families are documented in this study. The medicinal plants used in the treatment of skin diseases by tribal's are listed with botanical name (in binomial form), family, local names, habit, availability, parts used, and mode of preparation. This study showed that Bhutia tribal people in the studied parts of Uttarkashi district continue to depend on the medicinal plants at least for the treatment of primary healthcare.

The present study was conducted to assess the phytodiversity of vascular plants in Sangla valley of Himachal Pradesh, India. We recorded 639 species of vascular plants belonging to 321 genera and 99 families, in which Angiosperms comprised 80 families, 296 genera and 584 species; Gymnosperms 5 families, 8 genera and 14 species, and Pteridophytes 14 families, 17 genera and 41 species. Angiosperms were mainly represented by families such as Compositae (91 spp.), Poaceae (38 spp.), Rosaceae (32 spp.), Lamiaceae (30 spp.), Apiaceae (24 spp.), Ranunculaceae (23 spp.), Brassicaceae (21 spp.), Polygonaceace (20 spp.) and Caryophylaceae (16 spp.). Artemisia and Polygonum were most species rich genera with 11 spp. each followed by Nepeta (9), Pedicularis (8), Anaphalis, Impatiens, Poa and Potentilla, (7 each), Berberis, Erigeron and Gentiana (6 each). The trees were 28, shrubs (62) herbs (488) and climbers (6). Among Gymnosperms, Pinaceae was dominant with 7 species followed by Cupressaceae (4 spp.) while major genera were Juniperus (4 spp.) and Pinus (3 spp.). These were represented by 10 trees and 4 shrubs. Dominant families of Pteridophytes were Dryopteridaceae (9 spp.) Aspleniaceae (6 spp.) and Athyriaceae (5 spp.). Major genera were Asplenium (6 spp.), Polystichum (5 spp.) and Dryopteris (4 spp.). A total of 316 species were native; 69 endemic and 170 were near endemic to the Indian Himalaya. 5 species were found to be critically endangered, 12 endangered and 16 were vulnerable in the valley.

This study was conducted to document the traditional knowledge on the utilization pattern of medicinal plants from the Shivalik hills of north western Himalaya. The local stakeholders were interviewed and data on the species such as the botanical name, family, local name, habit, part used and their traditional methods of drugs administration in different ailments was presented. The informant consensus factor (ICF) and use value (UV) was calculated to know the relative importance of each species. The paper enumerated143 species belonging to 123 genera and 59 families. Ailments were categorized into 17 categories. Most of the species were used for treating dermatological disorders followed by gastrointestinal, skeleto-muscular, respiratory and common fever etc. 58 % species were reported from wild sources, 16 % were from cultivated home gardens and 26 % were collected from both cultivated and wild sources. The use value of plant species were ranged from 0.15 to 1.70. The informant consensus factors for different ailment category ranged from 0.67 to 0.83. The study concluded that the systematic documentation and conservation of local medicinal plants and traditional herbal knowledge will be helpful for botanical and pharmacological research in future.

Himalayas are globally important biodiversity hotspots and are facing rapid loss in floristic diversity and changing pattern of vegetation due to various biotic and abiotic factors. This has necessitated the qualitative and quantitative assessment of vegetation here. The present study was conducted in Sangla Valley of northwest Himalaya aiming to assess the structure of vegetation and its trend in the valley along the altitudinal gradient. In the forest and alpine zones of the valley, 15 communities were recorded. Study revealed 320 species belonging to 199 genera and 75 families. Asteraceae, Rosaceae, Apiaceae, and Ranunculaceae were dominant. Among genera, Artemisia followed by Polygonum, Saussurea, Berberis, and Thalictrum were dominant. Tree and shrub’s density ranged from 205 to 600 and from 105 to 1030 individual per hectare, respectively, whereas herbs ranged from 22.08 to 78.95 individual/m2. Nearly 182 species were native to the Himalaya. Maximum altitudinal distribution of few selected climate sensitive species was found to be highest in northeast and north aspects. This study gives an insight into the floristic diversity and community structure of the fragile Sangla Valley which was hitherto not available.

The present study aimed to document the use of ethnomedicinal plants by Bodh or Bhotia tribe residing around Kibber Wildlife Sanctuary, a cold desert protected area in trans Himalayan Region. First-hand information on traditional knowledge was collected from Amchis (Folk healers) and local knowledgeable people of age groups that are between 30 and 75 years along with thorough review of previous studies in Indian Himalayan Region. Informants citations were also recorded for various ailments for which the species were used by which authenticity of the uses made can be assessed. The study provides information on the indigenous uses of 69 plant species, which are distributed among 25 families and 54 genera, that is, Angiosperms (24 families, 53 genera and 68 species), Gymnosperms (1 family, 1 genus and 2 species). Out of the total plants, 65 were herbs and four were shrubs. Key words: Cold desert, ethnomedicinal, medicinal plants, traditional knowledge, Indian Himalaya.

The aim of this study is to document the traditional knowledge on the utilization of Biofencing plants of Himachal Pradesh, Northwest Himalaya. The study was imperative because of dearth in the data pertaining to Biofencing plants in the study areas. The whole study area was stratified into three zones and a widespread field survey and random sampling method was adopted to assess the live fencing diversity of the region. The region occupies total 61 species. 10 (trees), 45 (shrubs), 4 (herbs) and 2 were climbers. These belong to the 25 families. Rosaceae, Fabaceae, Berberidaceae, Elaeagnaceae and Euphorbiaceae are dominant families. Among genera, Berberis and Rosa are dominant. Of the total, 55 species are medicinally important and among these 20% are used for stomach disorders; 17% (skin complaints), 14% (asthma), 11% (fever and joint pains), 3% (aphrodisiac and snake bite), 1% (anticancerous and nerve disorders). Ethnobotanical assessment showed that 33 of the recorded species are used as fuel, 20 (edible), 8 (fodder) and 4 (fiber and ornamental). This traditional knowledge of Biofencing plants contributes to the conservation of biodiversity and provides resource of economic and ecological interest and also decreasing the pressure on forests. So there is need to encourage the practice of using plant species for fencing in this region.