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India is rich in floristic as well as ethnic diversity. In India, 68 million people belonging to 227 ethnic group and comprising of 573 tribal communities spread over 19% of the total area of the nation. There are 45,000 species of wild plant out of which 9,500 species are ethnobotanically important species. Of these 7,500 species are in medicinal use for indigenous health practices. Ethnobotanical work done in India in the last few decades has led to the publication of inventories and documentation of plants and their products used by the aboriginals for various purposes. 

Ethnobotanical studies in different regions and pertaining to different tribes of India were taken up; which is served as a real and true introduction to Indian ethnobotany. There are many more books have been written under heading medicinal and ethnomedicinal plants of India, but those books could not fulfil all the requirements of research scholar and readers. The present book is focused on Ethnomedicinal plants of India. The present book deals with 549 plants used by the tribal communities in India for curing their ailments. The text given on each plant species includes botanical names followed by vernacular names, taxonomic description, distribution, chemical constituents, biological activities, folk uses and uses in literature. The source of folk uses is cited. The earlier well known uses of the species are also mentioned.

The need for the present work has been felt by the author to provide basic information to pharmaceutical industries and various other organizations working on the traditional system of medicines. The information of all potential medicinal plants based on folk claims and data recorded from literature have been incorporated so that the natural resources may be utilized as an alternative source of drugs for the welfare of mankind without affecting the natural ecosystem. This book well helps in generating an interest in ethnomedicinal plants of India. This book is an effort to put together the vast variety of ethnomedicinal plants used in Indian system of traditional medicine.