Dictionary of Indian Folk Medicine and Ethnobotany--A Reference Manual of Man - Plant Relationships, Ethnic Groups and Ethnobotanists in India/S.K. Jain. 1991, xviii, 311 p., 16 colour plates, 433 line drawings, $46. ISBN 81-85622-00-0.
Contents: Foreword/Prof. Richard Evans Schultes. Preface. Introduction. 1. Rich floristic and ethnic diversity in India. 2. Need for this Dictionary. 3. Zones in India. 4. Nomenclature of plants. 5. Presentation and arrangement of data. Section. I. Ethnobotanical uses of plants. II. Glossary-cum-index to uses. III. Ethnic groups in India. IV. Ethnobotanists. V. Index to families. VI. Index to local names. VII. Literature.
"This Dictionary is a glossary of the ethnobotanical work done in India. It instantly informs a reader whether a particular folk use is already reported from India or not. The book has exhaustive indices and over 40,000 cross-references.
"The main text deals with over 2500 plants giving the folk uses for medicine, food, other material culture like dyes and tans, mythology and other symbolic relationships; the related plant part, region of India, source of information and local names.
"A Glossary-cum-index provides definitions of therapeutic, ethnobotanical and other terms, and lists of genera under over 200 utility categories, like anthelmintic, aromatic, diuretic, fibres, skin diseases, taboos, worship, etc.
"Other sections deal with about 200 common Ethnic groups population, distribution, language, notable references on them); recent Workers on Ethnobotany (address, region and ethnic group of their work, notable publications); Index to Families (with lists of thier genera); Index to over 4000 Local names; and a Bibliography of over 375 references." (jacket)
[S.K. Jain is Scientist Emeritus at the National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow. His books include Glimpses of Indian Ethnobotany, An Assessment of Threatened Plants of India and Conservation of Tropical Plant Resources.] No. 6935