These
include edible nuts, mushrooms,
fruits, herbs, spices,
gums, game, fodder, fibres used for
construction of shelter and housing,
clothing or utensils, and plant or
animal products for medicinal, cosmetic
or cultural uses. Among these uses,
medicinal plants play a central role,
not only as traditional medicines
used in many cultures, but also as
trade commodities which meet the
demand of often distant-markets.
These plants have traditionally occupied
an important position in our socio-cultural
lives, especially in the rural areas.
Some important
medicinal plants:
1 ATIS Aconitum heterophllum Wall. ex Royle Tuberous
roots
2 MEETHA TELIA/BACHNAG Aconitum violoceum (Jacq.) Stapf Tuberous
roots
3 SAFED MUSALI Chlorophytum borivllianum Sant. & Fernandez Tubers
4 GUGGUL Commiphora wightii (A.) Bhandari Resin
5 NANURA/MISHMI-BITTER Coptis teeta Wall. Roots
6 SALAM PANJA/SALEP Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D.Don.) Soo Tubers
7 VIDANGA/BAIBARANGA Embelia ribes Burm. f. Fruits
8 NAGKESAR Mesua nagassarium (Burm. F.) Kostern Dry
Stamens
9 RAMPATRI/BOMBAY MACE Myristica malabarica Lam. Aril & Mace
10 JATAMANSI Nardostachys grandiflora DC. Rhizomes & roots
11 GAOZAGAN Onosma bractearum Wall. Flowers
12 KUTKI Picrorhiza kurrooa Royle ex Benth Roots & Rhizomes
13 KAKRA-SINGI Pistacia integerrima Stewart ex brandis Galls
14 SARPAGANDHA Rauvolfia serpentina Benth. ex Kurz Roots
15 MANJISHTA Rubia cordifolia Linn. Roots
16 CHANDANA/SANDALWOOD Santalum album Linn. Heartwood
17 CHOBCHINI GULABI Smilax glabra Roxb. 1 Roots
18 CHIRAIYITA Swertia chirayita Karst. Whole Plant
19 TAGGAR/MUSHKBALA Valeriana hardwickii Wall. Rhizomes & Roots
20 BANAFSHA Viola pilosa Blume Flowers
Himachal
has a rich repository of medicinal
wealth, which occupies
an important place in the Vedas.
Herbs are still being used to cure
jaundice, snake/scorpion bites, rabies,
bone fractures, gangrene, body pains,
eczema. etc.
Some common mountain herbs
in Himachal :
Dioscorea deltoidea Wall.
ex Kunth.
Family: Dioscoreaceae
Common Names: Wild Yam, Shingli-Mingli, Kinz. An extensive rhizomatic climber with stems twining to the left. Rhizomes are
horizontal, greyish brown with rigid scattered roots on them. Leaves are stalked,
cordate and acute. Fruits three winged.
Medicinal Use: An important plant for the pharmaceutical industry, used mainly
as a source of steroidal harmones. Used in the preparation of injections and
tablets for use in modern medicines like, birth-control-pills. It is also used
to treat rheumatic pains, allergies and certain ophthalmic disorders.
Thymus linearisL.
Family: Lamiaceae
Common Names: Wild Thyme, Banajwain, Jangli ajwain, Masho, Hasha, Pangdumna. Small spreading, extremely aromatic, often forming dense tufted mats. Leaves
numerous, tiny, elliptic oblong, entire, gland dotted. Flowers in small whorls
of purple to pink, crowded into short dense terminal clusters.
Medicinal Uses: The leaves and floral shoots are used for the treatment of
whooping cough, epilepsy, urine and menstrual problems. Its infusion is used
in the treatment of itching and skin eruptions. But the most popular use in
the hills is the stomach complaints, cough and cold. It forms an important
ingredient of gargles, mouthwashes and toothpastes.
Viola pilosa Blume
Family: Violaceae
Common Names: Violet, Banafsha, Banaksha. Small hairy herbs with short tufted rootstock. Stems short, but distinct, often
producing runners. Leaves ovate-cordate, crenate-serrate, stipules present.
Flowers violet, blue or at times white.
Medicinal Uses: The entire plant is taken and boiled in milk till it become
gelatinous. Bandage is made from it and used as poultice for wounds. It is
boiled in water and the decoction taken for relief in cough, cold and chest
congestion.
Plantago
Major Wall. Ex Kunth
Family: Plantaginaceae.
Common Names: Psyllium or Indian Plantain, Common Plantain, Jangli Isabgol. “Plantago”is
derived from a Latin word meaning “sole of the
foot.” A Perennial plant, which sprouts anew from its fibrous taproot around
mid-spring. The oval, ribbed, short-stemmed leaves form basal rosettes, which
tend to hug the ground. The flower stalks bear densely packed greenish white
flowers each of which will become a small capsule-like seedpad containing numerous
seeds.
Medicinal Uses: Has been used as a cough remedy and a laxative. The broad leaves
can be used as a remedy for wounds and inflamed areas, and in rural areas are
used to treat insect bites and bruises. A tea made from either the leaves or
the whole plant and taken internally has been used to treat lung disorders
and stomach problems. This same tea may be used as a mouthwash to treat sours
in the mouth and toothaches.
Punica granatum L
Family: Punicaceae
Common Names: Wild Pomegranate, Daroo, Daran, Darmu. Large shrub or small tree, often armed. Flowers are bright red, tubular having
numerous stamens. Fruit being globular with a crown like appendage.
Medicinal Use: Paste of its green leaves is applied on eyes for conjunctivitis.
Leaf juice is given during dysentery. Whereas, its fruit rind is useful in
chronic dysentery and diarrhoea. Bark of its roots and stems is used against
tapeworms. Seed pulp is also used as laxative. Fruit rind is used as an astringent
in diarrhoea and dysentery. An important ingredient of Lavan Bhaskar Churan.
Berberis
aristata DC
Family: Berberidaceae.
Common Names: Kashmal, Kamoshar, Kashmbal, Rasonth, Daru-Haldi, Daru-Haridra,
Kando. Thorny deciduous shrub with pale rough furrowed bark. Wood and roots yellow
from inside. Leaves fascicled in the axils of simple or branched spines. Flowers
yellow in compound racemes. Fruits grey white when young, bluish when ripe.
Medicinal Use: Its properties are analogous to that of turmeric. Useful in
curing various skin diseases, diarrhoea, jaundice and eye affections. It is
also used in chronic uterine troubles, piles and in cholera. Dry fruits act
as a mild laxative for children.
Taraxacum
officinale Wigg
Family: Asteraceae
Common Names: Common Dandelion, Dugdapheni, Dudhli, Dudal, Kanphul. This herb is common throughout the Temperate Himalaya. Small herbaceous plant
with milky juice and a bright golden yellow solitary flower. Leaves all basal,
variable in shape, irregularly pinnatifid and toothed. Pappus while, hairy.
Medicinal Uses: Useful remedy for chronic disorders of the kidneys and liver,
therefore it is an important ingredient of liver tonics and other preparations.
Besides regulating blood sugars, it is also useful for gallstones, jaundice
and muscular rheumatism. In Chinese system of medicine it is used against breast
cancer.
Valeriana
jatamansi Jones
Family: Valerianaceae
Common Names: Indian Valerian, Mushkbala, Naknihani, Nihani, Sugandhbala,
Tagger. Erect pubescent, aromatic herbs with big demand from the Dhoop industry. Rootstock
thick, horizontal with thick descending fibrous roots. Basal leaves long stalked,
ovate-orbiculate, toothed or wavy-margined and pilose, stem leaves few, much
smaller. Flowers white or pink tinged, in terminal corymbs, on nearly leafless
stems; fruit crowned with a persistent pappus like calyx.
Medicinal Uses: Used in Ayurveda for multiple preparations. The drug valerian
is obtained from the roots, which is regarded as aphrodisiac, antiseptic, cardiac
stimulant, carminative, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, nervine tonic, ophthalmic
and sedative. The crushed leaves are applied to the forehead in extreme headache.
Prunus cerasoides D. Don
Family: Rosaceae
Common Names: Himalayan Wild
Cherry, Padmakha, Pajja, Paddam.
A medium sized attractive,
deciduous tree. It is the only
flowering tree in winters, January
–February. Flowers pinkish
White. Bark is smooth, brown.
Fruit is ovoid, yellow, turning
red on ripening.
Medicinal Uses: All members of
this genus produce hydrogen cyanide,
a toxin. This toxin is found mainly
in the leaves and seed and is
bitter in taste. It is usually
present in too small a quantity
to do any harm. In small amounts
this exceedingly poisonous compound
stimulates respiration, improve
digestion and gives a sense of
well-being. It is also claimed
to be beneficial in the treatment
of cancer.
Oxalis
corniculata L
Family: Oxalidaceae
Common Names: Wood Sorrel, Alori, Changeri, Khat-mith, Umalori. Common herb along trails and open slopes. Stems spreading, hairy, rooting at
nodes. Leaves with three heart shaped hairy leaflets. Flowers yellow, solitary
or 2-5 n stalked axillary umbels.
Medicinal Uses: Aerial parts of the herb are ground to a fine paste with black
pepper and applied to boils, abscesses, wounds and weeping eczems. Leaf juice
is also used to cure eye cataract and warts removal.
Duschesnia indica (Andrews)
Focke
Family: Rosaceae
Common Names: Wild strawberry, Bulbaso, bhuin, aakhe, kophal. The small plants bearing bright-red fruits are commonly found at cool and shady
locations in wastelands as well as in the cultivated fields. The plant resembles
the strawberry to a great extent. It has trifoliate leaves like its cousin
the strawberry, and also spreads via stolons, but this common ground cover
has yellow flowers. The flowering, starts from the third week of March and
continues up to the end of June. Fruiting starts from the beginning of April
and continues up to the end of August.
Medicinal Uses: Children eat the small fruits. They are, not popular, as they
lack sweetness and have a flat taste. No specific medicinal value, but owing
to the fibrous nature of the fruit it aids digestion.
Hypericum perforatum I
Family: Hypericaceae
Common Names: St. John’s Wort, Bassant.
Perforatum is Latin for “perforated”. The leaves of Hypericum perforatum,
when held to the light, reveal translucent dots, giving the impression that
the leaf is perforated. The dots are not holes in the leaf, but a layer of
colorless essential plant oils and resin. The flowers are a bright yellow-orange.
The petals are peppered with black dots. When the black dots are rubbed between
the fingers, the fingers become red. This species is being cultivated commercially.
Medicinal Uses: Used in sunburn oil as cosmetic protection to skin. Oil obtained
from its fresh flowers, in combination of olive oil is used externally for
sores, wounds, ulcers and swellings. Also used in hair-restorer preparations.
Solanum surattense Burm.f
Family: Solanaceae
Common Names: Yellow-berried nightshade, Kanthikari, Chitrankaayi, Kandankathiri.
Herbs, prostate, prickly, stems zigzag, Leaves simple, prickly, ovate or elliptic,
lobed, base acute, apex obtuse. Flowers violet, in few flowered cymes. Berries
globose, green turning golden yellow.
Medicinal Uses: Fruits eaten as an anthelmintic and for indigestion. Root is
an expectorant, used in Ayurvedic medicine for cough, asthma, chest pain. Also
used for flatulence, sore throat, and toothache. Has high concentration of
solasodine, a starting material for the manufacture of cortisone and sex hormones.
Rubus ellipticus Sm.
Family: Asteraceae
Common Names: Himalayan Yellow
Raspberry, Golden Raspberry, Ainselu,
Hinsar, Rasbhari. Stout evergreen
shrub with prickly stems. Leaves
thick about 3-4 inches wide, divided
into roughly three equal robes
with toothed leaf margins and
inch-long leaf stalks that are
densely covered with prickles.
The flowers are white and occurs
in short, terminal panicles. The
fruit is yellow, edible and highly
sought after.
Medicinal Uses: It is relished
in summers, to promote perspiration
and urination. It also controls
dysentery and being fibrous it
aids in digestion.
Prunella
vulgaris L
Family: Lamiaceae
Common Names: Common Self-Heal, All Heal, Austakhandus, Ustakhandus. Small annual herb of moist locations, with numerous, spreading or ascending
stems. Leaves opposite, ovate to obtuse, hairy. Flowers bright blue-violet,
at times white or light pink, in dense cylindrical terminal heads. Broad ovate,
purplish, overlapping bracts, with purplish calyx, lies below the flower head.
Medicinal Uses: Used in fever and cough. Leaves coated with castor oil, warmed
over fire are applied to cure painful piles. Infusion is used as mouthwash.
A German saying goes as “He needs neither physician nor surgeon, that
hath self-heal to help himself”.
Solena amplexicaulis (Lam.)
Gandhi
Family: Cucurbitaceae
Common Names: Creeping cucumber, Mohkari, Tarali, Van Kakri.
Scadent herb with tuberous roots. Leaves polymorphic. Flowers small, yellow.
Fruit oblong, indehiscent, red when ripe, edible.
Medicinal Uses: Root is stimulant and purgative. Leaf has anti-inflamatory
properties as regards rashes. It helps maintain a healthy skin and is an important
ingredient of skin conditioning lotions.
Himachal Pradesh is an enchanting
part of the Indian Himalayas and
is often referred to as the magical
showcase of nature's splendours.
Verdant green meadows and wide valleys
set against imposing snow-clad mountains;
limpid lakes, torrential rivers and
gushing streams; fruit laden orchards
and gentle terraces of corn and tea
all characterize this state.
