Abstract

District Kangra is the most populous district, located on the South-Western end of the Himachal Pradesh, a hilly state of the Western Himalayas. The geographical area of district Kangra is 5,739 km², making 10.31% of the total area of the state. The importance of medicinal plants in traditional healthcare practices, providing clues to new areas of research and in biodiversity conservation, is now well recognized. However, information on the uses of plants for medicine is lacking from many interior areas of district Kangra. Keeping this in view, the present study was initiated in a tribal vicinity of district Kangra. The study aimed to look into the diversity of plant resources that are used by local people for curing various ailments. It was found that 30 polypetalous plant species are commonly used by local people for curing various diseases. In most of the cases (34.37%), leaves were used for curing the various health problems.

Key words: Ethnobotany, polypetalous medicinal plants, district Kangra, Himachal Pradesh.