Medicinal Plant Resources in Chhakinal Watershed in the Northwestern Himalaya

Abstract

ABSTRACT Traditional knowledge, uses, monetary costs, and benefits associated with medicinal plants were analyzed in the Chhakinal watershed of Northwestern Himalaya. Of 29 plant species used in folk medicine, only 3 species, Juglans regia, Picrorrhiza kurrooa, and Morchella esculenta were noted to have market value. The medicinal value of four species, Dioscorea deltoidea, Podophyllum hexandrum, Valeriana jatamansi, and Jurinea macrocephala, were unknown to local people, but sold for cash income. Use of medicinal plants in the traditional health care system of the area varied, depending upon the species and ailment. A total of 11 species were used for disorders related to digestive system, six species were used for skin infections, and three species were used for joint or muscular pain. The medicinal plants grew in government owned forests and other uncultivated lands as constituents of natural vegetation. Alpine vegetation had the greatest number of medicinal plant species, while forests had the greatest density of medicinal plants. Medicinal plants contributed 1.29 percent of annual cash income of an average household in the watershed.