INTRODUCTION:

Ethnoboatany is the study of how the people of a particular culture and religion making
the use of plants and their products, while the ethnobotanist explores how plants are used for
Food, Shelter, Medicine, Clothing, Hunting and religious ceremonies. It is the relationship
between a society and its environment and a particular plant world.

Since the last quarter of 20th century most of the bioscience researchers are working on
ethnobotanical investigations to fulfill the increasing demand of plant articafts and herbal
products. Indian subcontinent is virtually excels with the diverse flora having number of plants
with ethnobotanical and ethnomedicinal importance. It has been reported that about 20,000 plant
species are found in Indian Flora having different medicinal properties and more than this have
other ethnobotanical importance of which about 7 % are on the verge of extinction. According to
recent findings of Botanical Survey of India (BSI) over 30 species of Angiosperms are under
threat of extinction Therefore it is essential to investigate such plants from different unexplored
regions and collect the indigenous knowledge regarding their utilities.

Indegenius knowledge is as old as human civilization but the term Ethnobotony was first coined
by an American botanist,John Harshburger(1896),to study the plants used by the primitve and
aboriginal people.Since then it has defined as the traditional knowledge on indigenious
communities,about surrounding plant diversity and as the study of how the people of the
particular culture and region make use of indegenious plants.Ethnobotony has its roots in botany.
Botany in turn originates in part from an interest in finding plants to help fight illness.In
fact,medicine and botany have close ties. Many of today’s drugs have been derived from plants
resources.

Ethnomedicine is defined as branch of science in which plant base formulation known to tribals
since ancient days are used to alleviate the disease.Now a days it is also known as botanical
medicine or phytomedicine . Lately phytotheorapy has been introduced as more accurate
synonym of plant based medicine.Herbal medicine are prepared from a variety of plant materials
as leaves, stems ,roots ,barc etc. They usually contain may be biologically active ingredients and
are used primarily for treating mild or chroninc ailments. Its is generally estimated that over
6000 plants in India are in use in traditional , folk and herbal medicine , representing about 75%
of the medicinal needs of the Third world countries .

Ethnomedicine is a routine tribal health care system and has been practiced since historical times
and truces its roots to ancient civilization . Although we defined alternative system of healing as
subjects that are not taught in medical school , it is worthwhile to mentioned that before the
availability of synthetic drug, plant based remedies formed the basis of primary health care
system . Herbal infusion , decoration and tinctures were household remedies for common
ailments.
Ethnobotany deals with the total natural and traditional interrelationships between man and
plants , and mans domesticated animals. Gathering jungle fruits or tubers or hunting animals for
food by earliest man on this earth was birth of ethnobotany and ethnozoology . The journey of
ethnobotany from those early beginnings through ages has been long . This discipline became
established as a genuine academic and research activity in the second half of the twentieth
century . Until recently it was not appreciated that sustainable development could be achieved
only through full understanding and integration of cultural aspects of biological diversity and
participation of the indigenous people of any region. The interrelationships between man and
plants can be first divided into material and cultural (spiritual ) relationships , and then placed in
one or more of the following four categories.

a)Relationships useful to man and plants.

b)Relationships useful to man but harmful to plants.

c)Relationships useful to plants but harmful to man.

d)Relationships harmful both to man and plants.

Methods of ethnobotanical research depend on the objectives or end product in the mind .
They are various but can be put in two broad categories , viz. Field research and literary research
for collecting large no. of plants for biological screening , three broad approaches are possible
viz. Random collections of plants of families rich in active principles or collections based on
ethnomedicinal data. Result in India and other countries have shown that percentage of positive
result is much more in ethnobotanically selected species help in sustainable use of bioresources
.Faith and traditional practices also help in lesser damage and better preservation of individual
species and or habitats, and thus of biodiversity . Traditional knowledge about those land races
or wild relatives of crop plants and other economic species which are more suitable to local
condition and microlimates , is useful in agriculture and horticulture programs. Identification of
new or prospective herbal remedies on the basis of traditional knowledge helps in health care
programs.There is also prospects of socioeconomic uplift of the indigenous communities through
promotion of cottage industries based on their traditional unique tools , gadgets ,arts and crafts.

Early in the twenty century herbal medicine was a prime healthcare system as antibiotics or
analgesic were not available with the development of allopathic system of medicine,herbal
medicine gradually lost it popularity among people and it was based on the fast therapeutic
action of synthetic drugs.

Ethnobotanical studies typically focus on recording the knowledge of traditional societies in

remote places (Hodges and Bennet ,2006). Indigenous People of different parts of the world have
a vast knowledge of and capacity for developing innovative practices and products from their
environment . Indigenous knowledge grows from close interdependence between knowledge
land , environment and other aspects of culture in indigenous societies and the oral transmission
of knowledge in accordance with well understood cultural and sacredness that govern the
management of knowledge.(Tripathi et.al.2000).

Ethnobiological studies including traditional ethnobotany and ethnomedicine.Traditional

medicine includes certain health approaches and practices incorporating the use of herbs ,metal
or diet restrictions or life style changes with a view to diagnose,prevent or treat diseases.

Ayurveda, Sidhha , Unaani , Homeopathy,Reflexology,Aromatherapy , Western Medical

Herbalism and Traditional Chinese medicine(T.C.M) represent some popular traditional system
of medicine.

India harbors about 427 tribal communities,all differing in their social and cultural traditions.
Each one of them had their own system of traditional health care. But this Indigenous knowledge
is on verge of extinction in many tribes . This must have to extract and use of the benefit of
human society.

Salher Fort is a place located near Waghmba village in Nasik district of Maharashtra. According
to a Legend , Lord Parshuram did his Tapascharya (Asceticism) at Salher Fort.Salher stands
adjacent to Salota fort in Selbari mountain Range in Baglan region. Nashik district of
Maharashtra at the height of 5141 feet above sea level.

Mulher-Mora and Hargad forts stand in the Dolbar mountain Range. Mulher and Mora are
adjacent to each other. Salher is the highest Fort in Sahyadri. Mountains(156 meters) &. Second
highest in Maharashtra after Kalsubai in Maharashtra and 32nd highest peak in western ghats
.The money acquired after raiding surat was brought to this Fort, first on its way to the Maratha
capital forts .

Mulher ( Ratnapur - Mahabharat period),Mayurnagri (King Mayurdwaj era) is located on the

right (south) bank of Mausam River , 3.5 KM by road east (downstream) of the village of Vide
Digar and the Haranbari dam . It is 9KM by road west (upstream) of Tarahabad. It is located on
State Highway 14 . The Rathore dynasty of Bagul ancestry reigned Baglan between 1310 and
1638. Mulher fort was their capital.The Mughals then gained control of Baglan.

Many rural people and different tribes live in forest of Salher and Mulher . These tribal people
used different plants for various purpose like medicines , for thatching roofs , building their huts
etc. They use many plants and different plant parts to cure various diseases. They follow various
methods to obtained the medicine from the plant. These medicines are used by tribals like
Mahadev koli,Kokana , Bill and Thakur.

Ethnobotanical work has been directed to study and described the articles of domestic use
including huts or houses of adivasi. Ethnobotanical studies help in revealing the numerous
germless stocks of our cultivated plants and vegetables.The study of origin of basis of local name
of plants is one of the stream of ethnobotanical study. Vernacular names naturally vary from one
place,language and people to another.The vernacular names are simple,easy for the local people
to pronounced and quite often have relevant meaning .

Ethnobotany is an inter-disciplinary science. Through the basic object is to study man and plant
relationship, when the inquiry in ethnobotany extends beyond ordinary realm of botany and has
significant input of other branches of science like medicine and anthropology,the work becomes
inter-disciplinary researches are emerging under special titles like ethnopharmacology ,
ethnomedicine ,ethnoagriculture , ethnomusicology and many others.

Due to its inter-disciplinary nature and socio-economic aspects,the linkages of ethnobotany have
proliferated and relevance has been established with problem of nutrition,life support
species,rural health , drug use and abuse , social customs ,cottage industries economic uplift ,
conservation of ecosystem etc. With this background of ethnobotany,it was decided to take up
ethnobotanical studies of an area with specified objectives which would include all aspects of
ethnobotany discussed above.

Tribals which used to call themselves as king of forest , are now forced to rush to concrete forest
for survival. Due to such migration tribals and their younger generation are going away from
nature and youth is not Ready to follow the tradition for various reasons . Therefore this valuable
knowledge is being lost day by day ,moreover due to illiteracy there is no written
documentation.Before we loose it forever,it is very important to record it . At the same time there
is enormous pressure of fast growing population on the society to fulfill the needs of such vast
population. Forest are being depleted at a faster rate . Many population of useful plants are
decreasing day by day. Some of them are vanishing from certain areas .

Many plants have used and harms , that which are known to us so far , this traditional knowledge
about plant also included certain very effective conservation strategies and practices of
sustainable resources use .
REVIEW OF LITERATURE:

The history of the use of plants in medicine can be traced back to the ancient civilization or pre-
rigveda times.The earliest written record of the preparation and the use of medicine plantation
plant's is in the Rig-Veda.It is the earliest scripture of the Hindus (4500-1600 BC).

The vedic Aryans were familiar with about 100 medicinal plants . In Atharva veda which was a
later work,the uses of medicinal plants described are more varied . Such works were followed by
the monumental contribution like 'Charak Samhita '(1000-800BC),Sudhir Samhita (800-700
BC)and Vagbhattas Astanga Hrudayat. These treaties present excellent details on the Indian
medicine and it's therapeutic value.(Mitra and Jain 1991). It may be relevant here to mention that
the work of Dioscorides (77 AD) contaied many references to Indian medicinal plants.

The unani system (400 BC) which originated in Greece came to India through the Arab
physician who accompanied Mogal invaders . The sidhha system with a recorded history from
about 2000 BC is believed to have originated in tamil Nadu.

Hermandery (1570-1575) studied the flora and fauna of Mexico in relation to man and wrote a
comprehensive account in 16 folio volumes . This the first official record of a scientific
expedition in history and is still useful source of study.(DC 1968).Among the ethnobotanists of
USA , the works of schultes (1960,1962,1987,1989,1992,1993) and Tyler (1987) are
commendable studies on west Africa by Ayensu (1978),south Africa by Philip (1975) and north
Africa by Bouls (1983) need special mention .Vidal (1971) reported the plants of ethnobotanical
interest from South East Asia. Plants associated with the tribals of Indonesia were studied by
friedberg (1974). China has very rich flora and many plants were screened for biological activity
based on the experience of traditional Chinese medicine . Le Schinchen (1590) publish a herbal
"Pent 500 Kang Mu" a record of all knowledge of medicinal plants . (Walker 1944).

An organized study of ethnobotany in India was started by Alkinson in 1882 by publishing 12

volumes of the Gazetter of Northwest province of India.Bodding (192-1927) published his notes
on the system of medicine practice by santals,one of the largest tribes in India , numbering about
three million Majumdar (1927) made on exhaustive scrutiny of literature on Indian Medicine.
Janki Amma (1954) stressed the scope and need for seeking the help of the aboriginal in the
tribals region of Assam, Himalaya, Andaman and Nicobar islands and the western ghats for
ethnobotanical finding.

Publications that shows the richness of Indian ethnobotany.

1) Indian Materia Medica(Nandkarni,1908)

2) Indian Medicinal Plants(kirtikar & Basu 1933)

3) Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants(Chopra et.1956)

4)Glimpses of Indian ethnobotany(Jain 1981)

5)A manual of Ethnobotany (Jain 1987)

6)Methods and Approaches in Ethnobotany (Jain 1890)

7) Dictionary of Indian Folk Medicine and Ethnobotany(Jain1991)

8) Notable Plants in Ethnomedicine of India(Jain et.al 1991)

9) Ethnobotany in Human Welfare(Jain 1996)

10) Ethnobotany in South Asia (Maheshwari 1996)

11) Cross-cultural Ethnobotany of North East India (sakali and Jain 1996)

12) Contribution to Indian Ethnobotany (Jain 1997)

13) A Handbook of Ethnobotany (Jain and Mughal 1999)

The pioneering works of Jain (1963a, 1963b, 1963c, 1965, 1967) earned India an
important place in the world map of ethnobotanical studies. He made exhaustive studies on the
tribals of central India . A large volume of data started pouring in as could be gleaned from
hundreds of publication in journals related to Ethnobotany such as Journal of Economic and
Taxonomic Botany . Ethnobotany and in the journal of general nature such as Journal of Indian
Botanical Society and Indian Journal of Forestry.

The contribution made by Shrivastava (1988) Srivastva

et.al.(1980,1981,1984,1992).Maheswari and singh (1984a,1984b,1987,1990),Kaput
(1986,1990a,1990b,1991),Sur et al(1987,1990,1992a,1992b ) from northen and Himalaya
regions; Tiwari et al (1980a,1980b,1984,1986,1992) and Rawat (1998) from North Eastern
Region;Hemdari and Rao(1989a,1989b,1990,1991) from central regions and Hemdari
(1981,1984,1985,1990),Pushpangdan and Atal (1984,1986),Hosagoudar and Henry(1991) from
southern region are significant and need special mention.