Cleistanthus nokrensis (Euphorbiaceae), a New Species from Indian Himalaya

A new species, Cleistanthus nokrensis (Euphorbiaceae), was collected and described from Indian Himalaya. This species is confined to the Nokrek Biosphere Reserve where it grows on the calcareous habitat in karst topography. On the basis of the critical features of its habitat, branches, petioles, leaves, and fruits, the species is compared with the closely related allied species, C. tonkinensis Jabl. and C. balakrishnanii Chakrab. Notes on its taxonomic description, photographs, ecology, associated species, population data, and threat perspective as per latest IUCN conservation status are provided. A key to the other taxa in the genus reported from India is provided for the first time, along with their distributional records and endemism

Cornus kousa F. Buerger ex Hance subsp. kousa (Cornaceae), a New Record from India

We present a new record of the dogwood tree (Cornus kousa F. Buerger ex Hance subsp. kousa) (Cornaceae) from the Eastern Himalayas in India. This record extends the known geographical distribution of C. kousa from China, Republic of South Korea and Japan to Eastern Himalayas of the Indian biome. With this report, the distribution of the subspecies kousa is also extended from Japan and Korea to India. The species was discovered from Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve (27°06'-28°05'N, 88°02'-88°47'E) in the state of Sikkim in the Eastern Himalayas. This discovery modified the current distribution of C. kousa in the world

Scientific Appraisal and Therapeutic Properties of Plants Utilized for Veterinary Care in Poonch District of Jammu and Kashmir, India

The importance of traditional and indigenous knowledge is acknowledged on a worldwide scale for its coexistence principles and sustainable use techniques. In view of this, the present study is an attempt to document the ethno-veterinary plants used by the tribal communities of Western Himalaya. This study also provides the scientific validation of herbal medicines used in ethno-veterinary practices through a reverse pharmacological approach. A total of 59 informants were selected through a non-probability sampling method. Detailed information on the medicinal plants used in ethno-veterinary practices along with their habits and habitats, part/s used, remedy preparation methods, additives/ingredients used during preparation and administration, dosages administered, and route of administration was collected. Data was analyzed for the Relative Frequency of Citations (RFC), Use Values (UV), Informant Consensus Factor (ICF), and Jaccard Index (JI). Further, a reverse pharmacological approach was used for scientific validations of the documented herbal knowledge of plant species. During the study, 56 plant species belonging to 54 genera and 39 families were documented. Asteraceae was the dominant family followed by Lamiaceae, Amaranthaceae and Fabaceae. Life forms were dominated by herbaceous species and leaves were the most common plant parts used. The highest Relative Frequency of Citations (RFC) and Use Values (UV) were recorded for Brassica rapa L. (Brassicaceae). The Pearson correlation coefficient between RFC and UV shows a strong positive correlation between the proportion of uses of a plant species within a sample of informants and the number of times that a particular use of a plant species was mentioned by the informant. Studies of the biological activity of ethno-veterinary plants can provide clues of promising leads for the isolation and identification of useful compounds that may be developed into pharmaceuticals for human welfare