Plants and natural products have played a significant role in curing and preventing a variety of ailments occurring in humans and animals, and continue to provide new bioactive leads for researchers in therapeutic discovery. This study was conducted with the aim to identify and document local healers’ practices of treating human diseases and quantitatively document indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants, as well as to highlight the species of public interest for bioprospecting potential. A total of 17 field tours were carried out in 12 regions of Jasrota hill and its adjoining areas of Himalaya. Informants (113) were interviewed using semi-structured interviews and discussions and local guided collections. The results were analyzed using ethnobotanical indices—use-reports (URs) and the informant consensus factor (ICF)—and the data were statistically analyzed. The ethnopharmacological uses of 121 plant species belonging to 105 genera and 53 families were reported for use as medicine for treating 93 types of ailments. A total of 4987 URs were mentioned by 113 informants. Fabaceae (90.09%) and Asteraceae (6.62%) were the most represented families. Herbs (46.28%) were the primary sources of medicine, decoction (33.88%) was the most common use method for utilization, and leaves (43.80%) were the most frequently used plant parts. The ICF values ranged from 0.667 to 0.974, with the highest number of species (1314UR, 55 species) being used for the treatment of gastrointestinal ailments (GIA), followed by dermatological disorders (38 species). This result showed that the exchange of knowledge could be evident among the different communities, and their medicinal uses and practices could be correlated.

Subtropical and temperate forests are amongst the most threatened habitats of Asia, due to large-scale habitat loss and the fragmentation of landscapes. Inspite of these, the Asiatic regions preserve their endemic biodiversity, and provide a favorable environment for the abundant growth of vegetation. In the Himalayas, many interior regions are still unexplored from a biodiversity perspective, due to remote locations and high snow-clad mountains. In this study, we investigated the unexplored Bani Valley in order to reduce the gap of uninventorized areas of rich biodiversity in the Himalayas and formulate plant conservation and management strategies. Thirteen field expedition tours were undertaken during 2017 and 2020 for data collection in different growing seasons in the study area. All plant species were collected as voucher samples, identified, and deposited in the internationally recognized Janaki Ammal Herbarium (acronym RRLH). GPS points were recorded in order to study the forest types and vegetation components of the study area. A total of 196 plant species belonging to 166 genera and 68 families were identified in Bani Valley, covering a total area of 2651 km². Approximately 70.62% of the species were native and 29.38% were non-native. In total, 46% of species were Indo-Malayan, followed by 22% Palearctic species. In angiosperms, dicotyledon species (68.37%) dominated. Poales were the most dominant order, with 38 species (19.38%). The most abundant families were Poaceae with 29 species (14.79%), Fabaceae (17, 8.67%), Rosaceae, Cyperaceae, and Asteraceae (9, 4.59% each). The life form analysis showed 50% of species as phanerophytes, followed by therophytes (25.77%). The leaf size spectra show mesophyllous species (34.69%) as the dominant group. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants categorized Ailanthus altissima as endangered (EN), Aegle marmelos and Quercus oblongata as near threatened (NT), Ulmus wallichiana and Plantago lanceolata as vulnerable (VU), Taxus baccata and 75 other species as least concern (LC), and 2 species as data deficient (DD). The remaining 113 species of plants had not been evaluated according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This study will help to shape conservation and management plans for threatened species for future implementation, and will help in biodiversity conservation. This study will serve as a database for future reference materials in terms of biodiversity management.

Two leopard plant taxa, Ligularia amplexicaulis DC. and L. sibirica (L.) Cass., are reported for the first time from Bandipora District of Jammu & Kashmir in India and are taxonomically enumerated. Ligularia amplexicaulis is a new record for the district Bandipora of the Kashmir Himalaya, which was previously reported in the elevation range of 2700–4800 m from the states of Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, and Sikkim in India. The specimens from Bandipora extends the geographic distribution of L. amplexicaulis in Jammu & Kashmir State, from Paddar Valley of district Kishtwar to the extreme northern range of the western Himalaya. Ligularia sibirica is reported for the first time from the Kashmir Himalaya of India and its known distribution extended to southeastern Asia. The specimens from Lidder Valley represents the first report of L. sibirica from the Kashmir Himalaya and extends its distribution range from Europe, Russia, and China to northern India. The present paper deals with the taxonomic description, phenology, ecological notes, associated vegetation components, and a note on the history of species discovery of these two leopard plant taxa. This finding also presents an updated distribution map of these two Indian species in the western Himalaya.

A new species Impatiens shamaii from Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh has been described and illustrated. Although it closely resembles Impatiens albopetala but, differs in number characters like long petiole, inflorescence number of flowers, lanceolate to elliptic leaves, funnel-shaped lower sepal and fusiform capsule.

Pyrrosia sarthalensis, belonging to the family Polypodiaceae from the Bani Valley of Kathua district, Himalayan Jammu & Kashmir, India is described here as a new species. It shows restricted distributional range and so far, is only known from the Bani Valley, within the Himalayan centre of endemism. It is an epiphytic fern species having brownish sori, formed only on the upper half of the frond. Other diagnostic features include grooved rhizomes, rhizome scales, lamina size and structure, sori placement, size and structure, and spore characters. This new species is morphologically similar to P. flocculosa but differs in certain characters.