Ethnomedicinal and obnoxious grasses of Rajasthan

Abstract

The present communication is an account of 23 ethnomedicinal and 10 obnoxious grasses of Rajasthan. The ethnomedicinal grasses such as Cynodon dactylon, Cymbopogon martinii, Saccharum bengalense, Coix lacryma-jobi, Desmostachya bipinnata and Echinochloa crus-galli, etc., are used by forest dwellers for various ailments in their daily life. As a result of overgrazing and deforestation, these important medicinal grasses are being eliminated from their natural habitats, hence the work aims at preservation of this knowledge which would be valuable for herbal drug industry and may lead to the identification of new economic resources. Beside this, some grasses like Aristida spp., Avena fatua, Heteropogon contortus, Cenchrus biflorus, Paspalum scrobiculatum and Pennisetum purpureum, etc., are also reported for obnoxious properties. These poisonous grasses are great destructive and constructive agents in the economy of a nation. It is, therefore, of fundamental importance to any country to gain a complete knowledge of their distribution, chemical constituents and physical action. Botanical name, local name, locality, plant parts used and methods of application or administration are given.