Paradise under fire

The beautiful Valley of Flowers, known for its flower diversity and fecundity, is caught in a strange controversy over ban on grazing

The secret gardens of Malabar

An English translation has been made exactly 300 years after the Hortus Malabricus was written, new, sinister designs seem to lurking behind it - …

Global Eco Watch: Major ecological happenings of the week (July 1 – July 7)

Down To Earth brings you the top happenings in the world of global ecology

Taste the tangy

A little-known ingredient from Kerala, kodampuli, is full of medicinal properties

Sweet success for wonder fruit kokum

Local groups are helping farmers rewrite the story of the healthy fruit

COP15 Montreal: Tribals are sentinels of forest biodiversity, not destructors

From food to medicine, tribal knowledge has helped humans survive for thousands of years

Ensure ethical trade in wild plants, consumers urged

New report highlights how many wild plants used in everyday products are sourced without any consideration to supply sustainability

A fruit to treat diabetes

Elandha vada is a traditional nutritional snack that is fast disappearing from our food basket

A herb from Garhwal

Locals may not pay much attention to Bhilmoda because of its abundance, but the herb has many traditional medicinal properties

Listen... plants too speak

As early as in 1880, Charles Darwin demonstrated that plants could sense light, moisture, gravity, pressure and possessed several other qualities.…

No monkey business, this

Monkeys are more knowledgeable than humans about the medicinal value ofplants

Medicinal plants help animals digest better

Karnataka villagers suspect biodiversity register

Kagga in peril

This rice can tolerate brackish water but is on the brink of extinction. Can government save it?

Magical mushroom: Scaling up Ganoderma lucidum cultivation will benefit farmers, users

Ganoderma lucidum has over 400 chemical constituents with medicinal properties

A lesser known rice bean that's healthier than most

Despite having immense nutritive and medicinal properties, the rice bean is a lesser-known pulse

Divine relish

Solanum torvum or the Turkey berry is known for its spiritual, medicinal and curative properties

Healing a tradition

A low-tech online network connects traditional healers and patients in Bhopal

Safeguarding ancient wisdom

Traditional Knowledge Digital Library is a useful weapon against wrongful patent

Reason to cheer

Meet two pioneering grassroots leaders nominated for the Equator Initiative Awards

Medicinal tree survives tissue culture process

Tissue culture technique for medicinal tree succeeds

Growing fences

Burgeoning population and agricultural encroachment in the last half century have erected artificial walls within the Gond tribes. These ethnic …

Science & Technology - Briefs

The wisdom of indigenous healers

Medicinal Plants of India - Vols I & II S K Jain and Robert A DeFillips Publisher: Reference Publications Price: US $94.95

Where are the tapovans?

Both India and China are ancient civilisations possessing characteristic indigenous knowledge of conservation of natural ecosystems. The Chinese …