Popularly Used Medicinal Plants by Tamang Ethnic Group at Three VDCs (Chilime, Thuman and Gatlang) of Rasuwa District

Abstract

Rasuwa districts isa mountainous least developed and remote district with rich floraldiversity due to altitudinal variation.Along withrich biodiversity, it is supported withnatural beauty, typical medicinal and aromatic plants, several endemic threatened andendangered animals and plants, ethno medicinally and economically useful plantspecies and ancient cultural heritage. Along with the floral diversity this district isalso rich in cultural diversity. Tamang ethnic group is the dominating group in thisdistrict. There are 18 VDCs in Rasuwa district and out of that threeVDCshave beenselectedthis study where there is the dominance of Tamang ethnic group. The study was undertaken primarily to document the ethno medicinal information ofthreeVDCs, Chilime, Gatlang and Thuman which was accompanied by three fieldvisits made from Sept. 2006 to Aug. 2007. The focus was also made to quantify theindigenous knowledge of Tamang communities within the three VDCs using theconsensus methodology. The ethnomedicinal study indicates that large number of plant species is used astraditional medicines. There were 53species of ethno medicinal importance survey inthe study area. Out of the total 49species,45species were reported in consensus list.The medicinal uses of the plants were grouped into 11 categories and the“informantconsensus” (F ) factor for each usage category was calculated. The result ofconsensus suggested a well defined medicinal tradition in the study area. Trade ofmedicinal and aromatic plant was found to be very high. The frequently traded specieswere Nardostachys grandiflora, Neopicrorhiza scrophulariiflora, Rheum australe,Swertia chirayita, Valeriana jatamansii and Delphiniumsp.The people of Chilimewere seen to be highly engaged in the collection of MAPs. ic There was found no any appropriate method of sustainable harvesting and management practices. Most of the people seemed always in hurry to collect those products which have high market value. This has led many species to go under high threat. Therefore, there is a need of promotion of other kind of options to be dependent on, like the cultivation practices and sustainable utilization of the medicinal plants. It seems to be most viable option for their effective management.