Contents: Preface. 1. Cultural values of biodiversity: similes and metaphors among the Karbis of northeast India/Robindra Teron and S.K. Borthakur. 2. Indigenous knowledge of dye yielding plants used in traditional art of Bagh printing/Veena Satya. 3. Ethnomedicinal survey of plants used in the treatment of male sexual dysfunction among the Ilaje people of Ondo state, Nigeria/Joseph O. Erhabor, Mac Donald Idu and Ormisan A Jatula. 4. Some indigenous Capsicum species of India and their ethnomedicinal importance/Khomendra Kumar Sarwa, Bhaskar Mazumder and Mithun Rudrapal. 5. Ethnobotanical evaluation of some pteridophytes in North Bengal, West Bengal, India/Sunit Mitra and Sobhan Kr. Mukherjee. 6. Potentials of indigenous knowledge and ethnobiotechnology in sustainable agriculture in sub Saharan Africa/Kenneth Yongabi and Laura De Luca. 7. Use of some of the Lichen Species as spice in Dungarpur, Rajasthan/Vartika Jain and Sanjeeva Nayaka. 8. Medicinal plants resources in traditional village: home gardens of Rayagada district, Odisha – A study report/A. Pramanik, P.R. Sur, P.K. Baske and A.C. Halder. 9. A study on ethnobotany and traditional knowledge of plants of Jharkhand/Sanjeev Kumar. 10. Plants used for adornment by Jarawa tribe of Andaman Islands/Vinod Maina and T. Chakrabarty. 11. Some indigenous phytotherapy among the tribes of Chhattisgarh/Amia Ekka and Neelam Sanjeev Ekka. 12. Herbal vendors of Chitrakoot: the unsung heroes/R.L.S. Sikarwar. 13. Ethnomedicine of some religious plants in Dumka district of Santal Pargana, Jharkhand/Sutanu Lal Bondya. 14. Application of ethno medicinal plants in traditional healthcare systems prevalent in Shiwalik Hills, Himachal Pradesh, India/Neetu Sharma. 15. Evaluation of Calotropis procera (arr.) R. Br. for the treatment of Psoriasis: A pilot study/Sheth Falguni and Parabia Farzin. 16. Cucurbits in ethnic and economic life of Mithila, North Bihar, India/V. Jha, A.B. Verma, R. Kumar and Prajna Jha. 17. Prospective ethnoveterinary plants in Barak Valley, Southern Assam, India/Madhumita Nath. 18. Traditional method of black powder production using Charcoal of trema Orientalis (L.) blume (cannabaceae) from Dima Hasao, Assam/Pramod Medhi and S.K. Borthakur. 19. Uses in traditional herbal medicines for treatment of water borne diseases in Singhbhum and Chotanagpur area of Jharkhand, India/Sanjeev Kumar. 20. Ethnobotanical observations of some temple plants of India/Anil Kumar Dhiman. 21. A new gateway to the ethnobotany of Rajasthan/Anita Jain. 22. Traditional use of beneficial agrestals in Howrah District, West Bengal, India/Saurav Dwari and Amal Kumar Mondal. 23. Importance and scope of Kair (Capparis Decidua) and their medicinal properties/B.L. Meena, Manish Kanwat and P. Suresh Kumar. 24. Ethnomedicines of Malayan tribes of southern region of Kerala, India/Vikas Kumar. 25. Ethnobotanical utilization of trees in Kumaon region, North West Himlaya, India/J.K. Bisht and R.P. Yadav. 26. Traditional knowledge: best medicine mines, a way forward/Sutanu Lal Bondya, Prasanjit Mukherjee and Anuradha Das. 27. Study and conservation of prioritiaed plants through village botanist – a unique approach/Suresh Jagtap, Vivek Gour-Broome and Raghunandan Velankar. 28. Ethno medicinal values of the family asclepiadaceae of Paschim Medinpur District of West Bengal/Sanjit Sinha and Amal Kumar Mondal. 29. Exploration of minor and underutilized fruits of Ratlam district (Madhya Pradesh) for biodiversity conservation/Dinesh Jadhav. 30. Ethno-medico-biology of Cuddalore district, Tamil Nadu, India/Vikas Kumar and Mano G. 31. Ethnic use of certain medicinal plants of Darjeeling Himalaya vis-à-vis modern research/Prasanta Kumar Mitra, Tanaya Ghosh, Prasenjit Mitra and Gayatri Mitra.
The present book is an attempt to provide relevant papers on ethnobotany from reputed and emerging ethnobotanists of India, Africa and the USA. Wide range of source materials and studies in various chapters give glimpses of cross-sectional picture of interactions between man and plants and also focus on the concepts, methodology and future direction of ethnobotanical study. Ethnobotanical studies contribute in cataloguing of biological diversity, which helps in taking decision for conservation of endangered species. The book serves this purpose. There are thirty one chapters in this book covering topics on ethnobotany from the states of the Western Himalayas to the states of the Eastern Himalayas, Rajasthan to Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa; M.P. to Tamilnadu and Kerala, and also those of from Andaman and Nicobar. It also covers studies in Nigeria and Sub Saharan part of Africa. The book provides glimpses of Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Indigenous Knowledge (IK) being practiced in the field of medicine and other spheres of day to day life. Acculturation in the society has caused erosion of traditional knowledge. Such data are very useful in conservation of biodiversity and associated TK.
This book will be immensely useful specially to the students, research scholars and the teachers of ethnobotany and allied subjects. It is needless to emphasize that book should find a place on the shelf of each and every connected library in the country to facilitate teaching and research activity, specially in the subject of ethnobotany.
This book is likely to act as treasure-trove for researchers and academicians from different field, NTEP based entrepreneurs and forest officers.
