Ethnobotanical Wisdom of the Tribals in the Palni Hills

Ethnobotany of the Western Ghats is the first and only book of its kind, dealing with the ethnobotanical wealth of the Western Ghats. It is based on a long association of the author with the tribals in the Palni Hills for the past fourteen years and original in depth research on the plant wealth. It is multidimensional, touching upon the sociological, economic, cultural, political, anthropological, health and folk aspects of the tribals in association with their habitat (forests and plants) There has not been any such comprehensive research, done so far on all these aspects. Thus this book is unique in its kind, value and usefulness. It documents all the knowledge in the oral tradition of the tribals. The second chapter gives an overall summary of ethnobotany and ethnobotanical research at the global, national and local levels. A total of 326 ethnobotanically valuable plants have been identified and described in this book. Photos of most of these plants are also included. The last chapter discusses the vital elements of forest conservation with tribal cooperation and ways and means of tribal welfare and development. This book will definitely be a resource book for educationists, ethnobotanists, research scholars, scientists students and source book for NGOs, individuals and groups committed for the cause and welfare of the tribal and ecology, research centres, educational institutions, institutions, policy makers and others. It is written is simple English, easily understood by all. But the wealth it contains is enormous.