Survey of Wild Medicinal Plants used by Migratory Shepherds in Summer Hill of District Shimla in Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

Author(s): Radha, Sunil Puri and Ashok Pundir

In Himachal Pradesh migratory shepherds have rich traditional knowledge about
medicinal plants and its uses, in this respect, an ethnobotanical survey was carried out from July
2017 to October 2018 in Summer Hill of Shimla district, Himachal Pradesh. The required
information on ethnomedicines used by tribal migratory shepherds was collected through
personal field visits, interview method and by using a pretested questionnaire. It was observed
that in all 44 medicinal plant species were reported viz. Achillea millefolium, Bergenia ciliata,
Betula utilis, Cannabis sativa, Ficus religiosa, Picrorhiza kurroa, Rhododendron arboretum,
Solanum nigrum and Zanthoxylem armatum etc. This study shows that shepherds in tribal areas
are highly dependent on wild medicinal plants, which evolved over generations of experience and
practices, for the healthcare. This survey can help as baseline data on wild medicinal plant
species used in Summer Hill of district Shimla and could be helpful in conservation of wild
medicinal plants as well as traditional knowledge.

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