Dictionary of Indian Folk Medicine and Ethnobotany

Contents:  Foreword by Prof. Richard Evans Schultes, Tyler Laureate, Prof. of Biology & Director, Botanical Museum (Emeritus) Harvard University, Cambridge, MASS, (USA). Preface. Introduction. 1. Ethnobotanical uses of plants. 2. Glossary cum index to uses. 3. Ethnic groups in India. 4. Ethnobotanists. 5. Index to families. 6. Index to local names. 7. Literature.

It is a glossary of all ethnobotanical work done India. The book has exhaustive indices and over 40,000 references. The main text deals with over 2500 plants giving their folk uses for medicine, food, other material culture like dyes, tans, mythology and other symbolic relationships; the related plant part, region of India, sources of information and local names. Glossary-cum-Index provides definitions of therapeutic, ethnobotanical and other terms,  and lists of genera under over 200 utility categories, like anthelmintic, aromatic, diuretic, skin disease, taboos, worship etc. Other sections deal with common ethnic groups (population, distribution, language, notable references on them); (address, region and ethnic group of their work, notable publications); Index to over 4000 local names; and a bibliography of over 375 references. The book has over 433 illustrations. This dictionary has been referred to as an authentic publication for examining the issues of patents, etc. (jacket)