Morphological and Elemental Parameters of Himalayan Peony (<i>Paeonia emodi</i>) a Medicinal Plant in Relation to Different Forests of Garhwal Himalaya, India

Abstract

Paeonia emodi (Paeoniaceae family) is an important wild herbaceous plant widely used in traditional and modern system of medicines to cure various ailments like diabetes, uterine diseases, blood purifier, colic, dropsy and epilepsy. The present study deals with morphological, elemental and soil chemical characteristics of P. emodi samples collected from different sites of Garhwal Himalaya. The plant height was highest (29.56 cm) in Gwaldam (GD) while the numbers of leaves were maximum (4.80) in Triyuginarayan (TN) population. Above ground fresh and dry weight was maximum in Pothivasa (PV) and Gwaldam populations (18.79 and 5.46 g, respectively). Highest below ground fresh weight (12.80 g) and dry weight (3.84 g) was recorded in Gwaldam and Randhar Bangar (RB) population respectively. The elemental analysis revealed the higher concentration of copper (0.612 mg/L) and iron (6.059 mg/L) in Gwaldam population, while magnesium (1.010 mg/L) and manganese (2.083 mg/L) detected higher in Pothivasa and Randhar Bangar populations respectively. The findings suggested that the population with higher fresh and dry weight can be targeted to obtain higher biomass of an elite population, while population with high elemental value can be used to obtain quality products with maximum health benefits. Further, the antidiabetic property of magnesium has proved the regular usefulness of P. emodi. In addition, the presence of toxic element like lead in low concentration also supported the safe and regular use of P. emodi .