Assessing the Use and Diversity of the Common Ethnomedicinal Flora of Pangi- A Cold Desert Region of North-West Himalayas

Abstract

Pangi -a dry temperate region of north-west Himalayas, is known ordnance of aromatic & medicinal plants and conventional knowledge coupled with these plants. Rich traditions and philosophy are deeply imbued in the cultural ethos of the natives while the modernity still eludes them, signalling a good scope for ethnobotanical studies. The inhabitants of the Pangi valley use various plant parts for curing different diseases like cough & cold, fever, burns, joint pains and stomach troubles besides using them for making household articles and in religious rites. The present study deals with twenty major medicinal plants used by the natives of the Pangi valley to cure a variety of ailments as the orthodox health care system practised by the local healers (Vaidyas). On extensive review of relevant research literature it was revealed that the use of these plants was never recorded before and hence the present investigation qualifies as a pioneering endeavour.  The traditional herbal medicine is still the most prevalent system in the area while the modern health care systems are slowly creeping in.