Abstract

The strong connecting link between the current loss of medicinal plants/flora and the missing of valuable conventional knowledge associated with the plants suggests a need to conduct ethno-botanical research and to document the medicinal plants and the associated traditional knowledge. Importance of medicinal plants in the traditional health care has now assumed more importance. However, information on the uses of plants for medicine is lacking from many hilly and tribal areas of Kashmir Himalaya. The present study has been carried out from different high altitude areas of Kashmir to look for the diversity of plant resources that are used by local people for curing various ailments. The information has been collected for 16 Monochlamydeae species, of which medicinal uses of 3 species are reported for the first time. It has also been found that most of the species are used for the general health problems and wound healings besides for the treatment of skin, gastric diseases etc.

Key words: Ethnobotany, Kashmir Himalaya, traditional knowledge, Monochlamydeae.