CRC Press Ethnobotany of India, Volume 5: The Indo-Gangetic Region and Central India

Ethnobotany of India, Volume 5: The Indo-Gangetic Region and Central India is the fifth of a five-volume set on the ethnobotany of India. Bringing together in one place information on the ethnobotany of the Indo-Gangetic Region and Central India, this volume presents the valuable details of the ethnobotanical aspects of many plants of the region. Competent authors have been selected to summarize information on the various aspects of ethnobotany of India, such as ethnoecology, traditional agriculture, cognitive ethnobotany, material sources, traditional pharmacognosy, ethnoconservation strategies, bioprospection of ethno-directed knowledge, and documentation and protection of ethnobotanical knowledge. With chapters written by experts in the field, the book provides comprehensive information on the tribals (the indigenous populations of the region) and knowledge on plants that grow around them. The volume looks at ethnic diversity of people of the region ethnic food plants and food preparation ethnomedical aspects of plants of the region, including hepatoprotective properties, uses to alleviate skin diseases, contraceptive uses, the trade in Indian medicinal plants mulitidisciplinary approaches for herbal medicine exploration The volume includes the details of the plants studies, their medicinal uses, their scientific names, the specific parts used, and how the plants are used, providing the what, how, and why of plant usage. The book is well illustrated with 23 color and 6 b/w illustrations. Together, the five volumes in the Ethnobotany of India series presents the available ethnobotanical knowledge of India in one place. India’s ancient and culturally rich and diverse information and use of ethnobotany will be valuable to those in the fields of botany and plant sciences, pharmacognosy and pharmacology, nutraceuticals, and others. The books also consider the threat to plant biodiversity imposed by environmental degradation, which impacts cultural diversity. About the Author T. Pullaiah, PhD, is a former Professor at the Department of Botany at Sri Krishnadevaraya University in Andhra Pradesh, India, where he has taught for more than 35 years. He has held several positions at the university, including Dean, Faculty of Biosciences, Head of the Department of Botany, Head of the Department of Biotechnology, and Member Academic Senate. He was President of the Indian Botanical Society (2014), President of the Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy (2013), and Fellow of the Andhra Pradesh Akademi of Sciences. He was awarded the Panchanan Maheswari Gold Medal, the Dr. G. Panigrahi Memorial Lecture Award of the Indian Botanical Society, the Prof. Y. D. Tyagi Gold Medal of the Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy, and a Best Teacher Award from Government of Andhra Pradesh. Under his guidance 53 students obtained their doctoral degrees. He has authored 45 books, edited 15 books, and published over 300 research papers, including reviews and book chapters. His books include Flora of Eastern Ghats (4 volumes), Flora of Andhra Pradesh (5 volumes), Flora of Telangana (3 volumes), Encyclopedia of World Medicinal Plants (5 volumes), and Encyclopedia of Herbal Antioxidants (3 volumes). He was also a member of Species Survival Commission of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). K. V. Krishnamurthy, PhD, is a former Professor and Head of Department, Plant Sciences at Bharathidasan University in Tiruchirappalli, India, and is at present an adjunct faculty at the Institute of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, Bangalore. He obtained his PhD degree from Madras University, India, and has taught many undergraduate, postgraduate, MPhil, and PhD students. He has over 48 years of teaching and research experience, and his major research areas include plant morphology and morphogenesis, biodiversity, floristic and reproductive ecology, and cytochemistry. He has published