| Summary, etc |
All the plants have many and diverse uses which have a direct or indirect bearing on the civilization of human society. India is a vast country abounding in plant wealth and therefore, it is very important to utilize these plants resources for the welfare of the country men. The late Prime Minister Pandit Jawhar Lal Nehru appropriately wrote in his forward to the first volume of Wealth of India (1948) "Never the less, India is wealthy and the wealth of India is there, but in spite of this wealth the people are poor. The problem for us is to utilize this stored up wealth of the country in the soil and under the soil for the benefit ofIndian humanity". His remarks are very significant because, though the country is very rich in its plant wealth, the information about them, particularly the medicinal plants is rather insufficient. The exact data such as the distribution of the medicinal species in the country, there relative abundance, flowering and fruiting time, ethno botanical uses and other such information which can not be deduced from the inspection of herbarium specimens are not only necessary but should be based on more thorough and systematic field study, so that plants can be exploited for human welfare, particularly for there therapeutic utility to combat many of the diseases and conditions. The present work "Herbal Wealth of Uttarakhand" is based on this rational and provides the result of extensive .field studies and literature research undertaken by survey team of Medicinal Plants Unit of the Regional Research Institute of Himalayan Flora, Tarikhet, Uttarkhand has been supposed to be the adobe of Gods from the time immemorial. It has always exercised a spell over poets, painter, sages; saints find mention in the prehistoric era and in the ancient religious books. The western scholars often call it "The Palestine and Jerusalem of India" as there are many famous shrines and temples on the peaks and dales of this land. It has been the cradle of everything precious in India's heritage. The perennial streams which determine the economy of the entire country have their origins in this state. The sky-scaling snowy peaks, valleys full of green vegetation, the forest, the medicinal plants, the mineral wealth and varied fauna has always been great attractions to the pilgrims, tourists, traders, explorers, naturalists, historians and curious travelers who are keen to know and see more internally its varied tapestry of colour and scenic excellence, Kalidas, the great Sanskrit poet of ancient India has described the Himalaya in "Kumarsambhava" as the soul of God, full of natural wealth. He describes: |
