Current Science

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Ethnobotany of India


Affiliations
1 Charles Sturt University & Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, P. O. Box 883, Orange, NSW 2800, Australia
 

Harshberger1 (Pennsylvania, USA) first used the term ‘ethno-botany’ in 1896 (Figure 1), referring to the science of relationships between humans and plants. Ethnobotany, today, has grown into a multidisciplinary science involving the bionomics, chemistry, uses and ecology of plants as relevant to human culture, heritage, economics, and in linguistics. This science has enabled us – humans – to know the ‘better side’ of plants. Through a c. 50,000-year experience, we have learnt to utilize plants for their benefits. Agriculture is one such2. Natural products chemistry is another, jumpstarted by Schmidt in 1811 (ref. 3). Simonsen, Chopra, Dey, Siddiqui, and Seshadri led natural products chemistry in India to great heights in the 20th century4. Besides, the botanical wisdom of ancient human societies, gained through experience has been another factor in empowering humans in this direction5,6.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • Harshberger, J. W., Bot. Gaz., 1896, 21, 146–158.

  • Mazoyer, M. and Roudart, L. (tr. Membrez, J. A.), A History of World Agriculture: From the Neolithic Age to the Current Crisis, Earthscan, Sterling, VA, USA, 1997, p. 522.

  • Schmidt, J. A., Handschriftlich Hinterlassenes Lehrbuch der Materia Medica, Kupffer u. Wimmer, Vienna, Austria, 1811, p. 515.

  • Nagarajan, K., Indian J. Hist. Sci., 2014, 49, 377–398.

  • Haverkort, B. and Hiemstra, W. (eds), Food for Thought: Ancient Visions and New Experiences of Rural People, ETC‒COMPAS, Leusden, The Netherlands, 1999, p. 237.

  • Day, J., J. Exp. Bot., 2013, 64, 5805– 5816.

  • Basu, A., Sarkar-Roy, N. and Majumder, P. P., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2016, 113, 1594–1599.

  • Raman, A., Curr. Sci., 2012, 102, 1717– 1720.

  • Valiathãn, M. S., Ãyurvedic Inheritance – A Reader’s Companion, Manipal University Press, Manipal, 2017, p. 232.

  • Champion, H. G. and Seth, S. K., A Revised Survey of Forest Types of India, Government of India Press, New Delhi, 1968, p. 404.

  • Kyalangalilwa, B., Boatwright, J. S., Daru, B. H., Maurin, O. and van der Bank, M., Bot. J. Linn. Soc., 2013, 172, 500–523.

  • Aikman, L., Nature’s Healing Arts: From Folk Medicine to Modern Drugs, The National Geographic Society, Washington DC, USA, 1977, p. 198.

  • Walter, K. J., Suomen Antropologi (J. Finn. Anthropol. Soc.), 2015, 40, 47–65.

  • Nagarajan, K., Biogr. Mem. Fellows Indian Natl. Sci. Acad., 2004, 26, 123–158.

  • Butterworth, J. H. and Morgan, E. D., Chem. Commun., 1968, 35, 23–24.

  • Koul, O. and Wahab, S., Neem: Today and in the New Millennium, Springer, Heidelberg, Germany, 2004, p. 276.

  • Marden, E., Boston Coll. Int. Comp. Law Rev., 1999, 22, 279–295.

  • Roxburgh, W., Plants of the Coast of Coromandel, George Nicol, London, UK, 1795, vol. 1, p. 68 + 100 plates.

  • Sherman, I. W. (ed.), In Malaria: Parasite Biology, Pathogenesis and Protection, American Society of Microbiologists, Washington, DC, USA, 1998, pp. 3–10.

  • Muddiman, S. B., Hodkinson, I. D. and Hollis, D., Bull. Entomol. Res., 1992, 82, 73–117.

  • Duke, J. A., Bogenschutz-Godwin, M. J., duCellier, J. and Duke, P.-A.K., CRC Handbook of Medicinal Spices, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA, 2003, p. 870.

  • Panda, A. K. and Swain, K. C., J. Ayurveda Integer. Med., 2011, 2, 9–13.

  • Frawley, D., The Secret of Soma Plant, The American Institute of Vedic Studies, Santa Fe, NM; https://www.vedanet.com/the-secret-of-the-soma-plant/ (accessed on 19 January 2019).

  • Ramanujam, M. P. and Cyril, K. P. K., Biodivers. Conserv., 2003, 12, 289–299.

  • Amirthalingam, M., Sacred Trees of Tamil Nadu, C. P. R. Environmental Education Centre, Chennai, 1998, p. 298.


Abstract Views: 147

PDF Views: 67




  • Ethnobotany of India

Abstract Views: 147  |  PDF Views: 67

Authors

Anantanarayanan Raman
Charles Sturt University & Graham Centre for Agricultural Innovation, P. O. Box 883, Orange, NSW 2800, Australia

Abstract


Harshberger1 (Pennsylvania, USA) first used the term ‘ethno-botany’ in 1896 (Figure 1), referring to the science of relationships between humans and plants. Ethnobotany, today, has grown into a multidisciplinary science involving the bionomics, chemistry, uses and ecology of plants as relevant to human culture, heritage, economics, and in linguistics. This science has enabled us – humans – to know the ‘better side’ of plants. Through a c. 50,000-year experience, we have learnt to utilize plants for their benefits. Agriculture is one such2. Natural products chemistry is another, jumpstarted by Schmidt in 1811 (ref. 3). Simonsen, Chopra, Dey, Siddiqui, and Seshadri led natural products chemistry in India to great heights in the 20th century4. Besides, the botanical wisdom of ancient human societies, gained through experience has been another factor in empowering humans in this direction5,6.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv116%2Fi7%2F1252-1255