Ethnomedicinal uses of plants close to rural habitation in Garhwal Himalaya, India

Abstract

The present study was conducted in three different altitudinal zones, tropical (300 TO 400 m), sub-tropical (900 to 1100 m) and temperate (2000 to 2400 m) zones of Garhwal Himalaya. A total of 61 plant species that were regularly used by the local inhabitants for curing various aliments such as digestive disorders, dysentery, wounds, swellings, cold, scabies, rheumatic, cholera, malaria were recorded within the study area. Of the recorded plants, 14 were trees, 10 shrubs, and 37 herbs. The species used most frequently werePhyllanthus embelica L., Terminalia bellerica Roxb., Terminalia chebula Retz., Aegle marmelos (L.) Correa, Holarrhena antidysenterica (L.) Wall. ex A. DC., Adhatoda vasicaNees in Wallich, Berberis asiatica Roxb., Achyranthes aspera L., Boerhavia diffusa L., Sida acuta Burm.f, and Sida cordifolia L. Twenty-seven species were common to the tropical and sub-tropical zones (trees = 5, shrubs = 4, and herbs/grasses = 18), one shrub occurred both in the sub-tropical and temperate zones, and none of the species were common to both the tropical and temperate zones. A total of 32 families were recorded, of which Lamiaceae was the dominant family (with 8 species). All but three of the species reported are well known, and widely used by communities in India. This indicated that the medicinal plant repertoire of non-specialists is limited to a very small number of species. Key words: Ethnomedicinal plants, altitudinal zones, rural habitation, Garhwal Himalaya.