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 - …

Forestland benefits

Under the Lok Vaniki scheme, a farmer can extract benefits from his land by selling its produce, including timber

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

Guggal faces sticky end

Ayurveda prescribes it for heart ailments; no data available on surviving plants

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

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.…

A fruit to treat diabetes

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

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

Taste the tangy

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

A herb from Garhwal

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

Sweet success for wonder fruit kokum

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

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?

Divine relish

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

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

Safeguarding ancient wisdom

Traditional Knowledge Digital Library is a useful weapon against wrongful patent

Healing a tradition

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

Growing fences

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

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

Science & Technology - Briefs

Where are the tapovans?

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

New database finds 960 new ‘druggable’ components in Indian medicinal plants

The database was created by the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc), Chennai, to facilitate drug discovery