DOCUMENTATION
Another primary step of the project has been to document the medicinal plants growing in the region, to identify which species are most threatened by over-harvesting and which species have the most potential for cultivation and income generation (the two are of course very closely connected). During 2002 and 2003 we started this process and have identified 10 species that are of most interest to us.
CITES listed species
CITES stands for 'Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora'. It is the internationally recognised register of plant and animal species that are either threatened by extinction or potentially threatened by over-harvesting.
Within the CITES register there are two main 'appendices'. Appendix I refers to species that are threatened with extinction and are generally prohibited for commercial international trade. Appendix II lists species that are 'not necessarily now threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled'. Of the ten species listed below, all except for Valeriana jatamansi, Dactylorhiza hatagirea and Angelica glauca are CITES listed under appendix II.
Click on each plant for further details:
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Aconitum heterophyllum
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Picrorrhiza Kurroa
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Nardostachys jatamansi |
Dactylorhiza hatagirea |
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Saussurea lappa |
Dioscorea deltoidea |
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Podophyllum hexandrum |
Valeriana jatamansi |
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Acorus calamus |
Angelica glauca |
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All photographs, except for jatamansi, taken by Ben
Heron