eChapters

1. Botanical Name : Prunus armeniaca Linn.

2. Family : Roasaceae

3. Common Name : Wild apricot

4. Name in Indian languages

Zardalu, Sarha, Chulli (Himachali), Chuari, Zardalu (Hindi), Gurdalu, Cherkush (Kashmiri), Chuaru, Chola, Kushmaru (Kumaoni); Chul (Laddakhi), Zardalu (Punjabi).

5. Description

Wild apricot is a common fruit of the hills in northern India, comprising the major parts of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The fruits are small but tasty.

6. Origin and distribution

This tree is indigenous to the Central Asia. It is widely distributed and is found in Europe, Western and Central Asia, Baluchistan, the north-west Himalayas and Western Tibet upto 2500 meters msl. It is found in the in mild-hills, ranging from 1,100 to 1,700 meters above the mean sea-level in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu Kashmir. Most of the plants are seedlings, with varying flesh and kernel characters.

1. Botanical Name : Prunus nepalensis (Ser). Steud.

2. Family : Rosaceae

3. Common Name : Wild peach, Sohiong

4. Name in Indian languages

Jangaliaru, Arupate (Nepali), Arupaty (Bengali), Sohiong (Khasi), Sajong (Assamese).

1. Botanical Name : Prunus persica Batsch

2. Family : Rosaeceae

3. Common Name : Wild peach

4. Name in Indian languages

Kateru, Katakiaru (Himachali), Kathu aru (Kumaoni).

5. Description

The wild peach is closely related to cultivated peach. Many wild forms of peach are found in Himalayan hills. The most distinguishing feature of this form is the very late ripening of its fruits. The fruits of this wild plant ripen at some places as late as October. The fruits are smaller than cultivated varieties and bitter and acidic in taste.

6. Origin and distribution

The peach is native to himalayan region. These wild peaches are found in plenty in the Solan, Sirmur and Simla Districts of Himachal Pradesh. The plants are also found Kumaon and Garhwal divisions of Uttarakhand.

1. Botanical Name : Prunus undulata Buch.-Ham.

2. Family : Rosaceae

3. Common Name : Dieng tyrkhung

4. Name in Indian languages

Dieng tyrkhung (Khasi).

5. Description

It is locally known as Dieng tyrkhung in Meghalaya and belongs to Rosaceae family. It is a rare species growing wild in Khasi and Jaintia Hills occurring in mountainous or hilly forests or river valleys. It is a small deciduous tree, upright and moderately branched. It can grow 5 - 16 metres tall. The fruits are harvested from the wild for local used as a food and source of materials. It thrives in a well-drained moisture-retentive loamy soil.

1. Botanical Name : Pyrus pashia L.

2. Family : Rosaceae

3. Common Name : Himalayan pear, Indian wild pear, Wild pear

4. Name in Indian languages

Kainth, Chotia, Kaimh, Shegal (Himachali), Mehal, mol (Hindi), Mehal, mol (Kumaoni), Mayal, Passi (Nepali), Kainth, Shegal (Punjabi), Sohshur (Khasi), Soh ait-syiar (Pnar), Tangi (Kashmiri).

5. Description

Himalayan pear is a small, deciduous tree of rosaceae family. It is common in open field borders and forest margins from 1000-2400m. The tree reaches up to a height of 5-8 m. The stem is greyish brown and rough. The flowering takes place in the month of February-March and the fruits mature in month of October to November. Fruits are globose, brown ultimately becoming black and rough. The fruits are astringent in taste when immature. The ripe fruits are sour -sweet with some astringency. This is widely used as rootstock for pear.

1. Botanical Name : Pyrus serotina Rehd.

2. Family : Pomaceae

3. Common Name : Wild pear (large-fruited type)

4. Name in Indian languages

Bada kainth, Shiara, Zarenth (Himachali), Shiara, Garmehal (Kumaoni).

5. Description

The trees of Pyrus serotina is found throughout the mid-hill region of Himalaya. The population of this species is very less as compare to Pyrus pashia. The fruits of this species are larger and less gritty. It is cold-hardy, tolerate low temperatures when dormant. It also has lower chilling requirements than most other.

6. Origin and distribution

It is native of central and East Asia form . It found in North Western Himalayan region.

1. Botanical Name : Rhus semialata Murr

2. Family : Anacardiaceae

3. Common Name : Chinese Sumac, Chinese gall, Nutgall tree

4. Name in Indian languages

Tatri (Hindi), Heimaang (Manipuri), Bhaki amilo, Chuk Amilo, Dudhe Bhalaayo, Bhangil (Nepali), Sohmad/ Sohmluh (Khasi), Sohsama (Pnar).

5. Description

It is a deciduous shrub or small tree with an open, spreading crown. It usually grows up to 12 metres tall. The trunk can be 6-18cm in diameter. The plant has an extensive root system and spreads by means of suckers, often forming thickets. The tree has edible fruits. It has several having medicinal properties. It is good source of tannins and dye. Fruits are gathered from the wild and mainly used locally. Galls produced as a result of insect activity on the plant are widely used medicinally in East Asia.

1. Botanical Name : Rourea minor (Gaertn.) Alston

2. Family : Connaraceae

3. Common Name : Cow Vine, Big-leaved Rourea

4. Name in Indian languages

Cheriyamarikunni, Kuriel (Malayalam), Puli pan (Kodwa), Hulimajge hannu (Kannada).

5. Description

It is a large woody climbing shrubs of family Connaraceae. Stem is black. Leaves are compound with 3-7 leaflets. Flowers in axillary panicled cymes.The fruits ripe in June –August. Whole fruit expect the rind and seed is consumed at ripe stage. It is rarely found. Rourea minor is a vigorous climbing shrub producing stems up to 25 metres long that climb into the surrounding vegetation.Although poisonous, the plant is sometimes harvested from the wild for local use in traditional medicine.

1. Botanical Name : Rubus ellipticus Smith

2. Family : Rosaceae

3. Common Name : Himalayan Yellow Raspberry

4. Name in Indian languages

Jotelupoka (Assameese), Ache, Akki, Anchhu, Hinure (Himachali), Hinsalu, Anchhu (Hindi), Gouriphal, Hisara (Kashmiri), Esar, Hishalu, Jogiya hisalu (Kumaoni), Ainselu (Nepali), Akhi (Punjabi).

5. Description

It is one of the tastiest wild fruits of Himalayan hills. This plant grows in abundance throughout the mid hill region of Himalaya. The fruits are relished by all and are also offered for sale at many places. Rubus ellipticus is an evergreen shrub producing a cluster of stout, heavily armed, upright, biennial stems from a woody rootstock. It usually grows 100 - 300 cm tall, occasionally up to 450 cm. The stems only produce leaves, and do not flower, in their first year of growth, forming flowering branches in their second year and then dying after fruiting. The plant can rapidly form tall, dense thickets. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine. The fruit is sold in local markets in the Himalayan states.

1. Botanical Name : Rubus niveus Thunb.

2. Family : Rosaceae

3. Common Name : Mysore raspberry, Hill raspberry

4. Name in Indian languages

Huftoo, Kale hinure (Himachali), Kala hinsalu, Kali anchhi (Hindi), Kandiari, Kharmuch, Surgaqnch, Oche (Kashmiri), Kalawar, Kalahisalu (Kumaoni), Kaloaselu (Nepali), Gunacha, Kandiara (Punjabi), Gomulli, Mulli (Kannada), Dieng soh khawiong (Khasi), Heijampet (Manipuri), Gowriphal (Marathi).

5. Description

Mysore raspberry is a shrub growing to 1-2.5 m tall. The stems are whitish velvety at first, becoming smooth green to purple later. Leaves are compound with 5-11 leaflets. The leaflets are dark green above, densely pale grey to white velvety beneath. The flowers are five dark pink to red petals. The fruit is densely grey velvety, dark red at first, ripening to black. The fruits are commonly harvested from forest for local use as a food and is also used as a medicine. Mysore raspberry is grows wild throughout the temperate Himalayan region. This species is successfully introduced North America. It resembles the raspberry.

1. Botanical Name : Rubus paniculatus Smith

2. Family : Rosaceae

3. Common Name : Heart-Leaf Raspberry

4. Name in Indian languages: Kothalu, Kala hinsar (Hindi/Garhwali)

5. Description

Heart-leaf raspberry is a rambling climber, distinguished by its large ovate-heart-shaped, finely toothed leaves. It is a deciduous shrub, producing each year a cluster of scrambling, minutely-prickly, biennial stems up to 300 cm tall. The stems only produce leaves, and do not flower, in their first year of growth; forming flowering branches in their second year and then dying after fruiting. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food, and sometimes also as a medicine.

6. Origin and distribution

It is native of Himalayas and found in the higher hills in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. It is also found in Nepal, Bhutan and China. The plants are at elevations from 1,500 - 2,900 metres msl. It is found in damp shady ravines to 1800 metres in Jaunsar and Tehri-Garhwal of Uttarakhand.

1. Botanical Name : Salacia chinensis L.

2. Family : Celastraceae

3. Common Name : Chinese salacia

4. Name in Indian languages

Chourondi (Malayalam), Saptachakra (Sanskrit), Chuntan, Karukkuvai (Tamil).

5. Description

It is a usually climbing plant, though is sometimes a scrambling shrub and occasionally becomes more tree-like. It can grow from 3 - 10 metres tall with a stem up to 16cm in diameter. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine.

6. Origin and distribution

It is originated in coastal India, China, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines. It is distributed in the Indian subcontinent, including the semi-evergreen forests of the Coastal Karnataka, Kerala and Tamilnadu.

1. Botanical Name : Salvadora oleoides Decne

2. Family : Salvadoraceae

3. Common Name: Pilu

4. Name in Indian languages

Pilava pilu, Mityar, Mitijal, Mithivan, Pilu, Chootapilu, Bahapilu, Diar, Jhal, Godpilu (Hindi), Khakan, Pilava, Pilu, Mityal (Gujarati), Kalawa, Kohu, Karkol (Tamil).

5. Description

Peelu (Salvadora oleoides) is an evergreen shrub or tree with a dense crown of numerous, drooping branches. It is small to medium sized evergreen tree with dense foliage. It can grow 6 - 9 metres tall. The main trunk is quite often twisted or bent. It can be up to 2 metres in diameter. The tree is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine and source of materials. Apart from edible fruits, other parts of the tree also have economic value. Leaves are very good feed for animals especially goats and camels while the twigs are used for cleaning the teeth. The other plant parts such as root bark and leaves etc have value in folk medicine. It is highly resistant against abiotic stresses such as drought and salinity.

1. Botanical Name : Securina leucopyrus syn. Flueggea leucopyrus

2. Family : Euphorbiaceae.

3. Common Name : Bushweed, Indian snow berry, White honey shrub

4. Name in Indian languages

Katupila, Shinar (Hindi), Pandharphali (Marathi), Mulluppulatti (Tamil), Cerimklaav (Malayalam), Pulugudu (Telugu), Bilchuli (Kannada), Parpo (Konkani), Humri (Gujarati), Shwetakambuja(Sanskrit), More pan (Kodwa).

5. Description

Bush weed is an erect shrub of family Euphorbiaceae. The plant grows up to 4 m tall with branches cylindrical or obtusely angular. Leaf is elliptic, obovate, or round papery to thinly leathery. Flower cymes arise in leaf axils or at leafless nodes. Flowers are tiny and yellowish. Fruit is a nearly spherical berry, about 4 mm in diameter, whitish when ripe.

1. Botanical Name : Semecarpus anacadium L.f.

2. Family : Anacardiaceae

3. Common Name : Marking Nut

4. Name in Indian languages

Bhilawan (Hindi), Bhillava (Marathi), Kavaka (Tamil), Ceenkkuru (Malayalam), Bhallatamu (Telugu), Gerannina mara (Kannada), Bhallataka (Bengali), Bonebhalia (Oriya), Amberi (Konkani), Bhala (Assamese), Bhilamu (Gujarati), Bhallatakah (Sanskrit), Bhalaayo (Nepali).

5. Description

Marking nut tree is a small to medium-sized tree that can reach a height of 25 metres, but is usually smaller. Possibly best known for its use in making a permanent marking ink. This multi-purpose tree also provides food, medicines, oil etc. It has high priority and applicability in indigenous system of medicine. It is often cultivated as an ornamental plant in the tropic.

1. Botanical Name : Tamilnadia uliginosa (Retz.) Tirveng. & Sastre

2. Family : Rubiaceae

3. Common Name : Divine Jasmine, Tamilnadia

4. Name in Indian languages

Kalaphendra (Marathi), Wagatta, Kalikarai (Tamil), Pindichakka (Malayalam), Kuka-elka (Telugu), Pidaar(Nepali).

5. Description

Divine jasmine is a very rigid, ramous, small tree, armed with numerous strong thorns. This found in bogs, swamps, banks of rivers and other moist places. It flowers in the beginning of the hot season. The flowers of this species, are known for beauty. It is good shrub for flower garden. It is an important medicinal plant because each and every part of it can be used for medicinal purposes. Sometimes leaves of the plant are used to make chutney.

6. Origin and distribution

It is native of India. It is distributed in India, Bangladesh, Srilanka, Thailand, Vietnam. In India, this species is found in moist deciduous forests.

1. Botanical Name : Vitis himalayana Br.

2. Family : Vitaceae

3. Common Name : Wild grape, Himalayan Woodbine

4. Name in Indian languages: Bhambti, phlankur (Himachali), Chappar tang, Bara churcheri (Kumaoni).

5. Description

This climbing shrub is commonly found in the forests. One of the important characteristics of this wild grape is that they ripen very late i.e., in October. The plant has tuberous roots.

6. Origin and distribution

Himalayan Woodbine is found in the Himalayas, from Pakistan to Sikkim, South West China and Myanmar at altitudes of 1800-3300 m. In India, it is found in Himachal and Uttarakhand.

7. Morphology

Himalayan Woodbine is a very large climber, growing to 18 m long. It has trifoliate leaves with 3 ovate long-pointed, sharply toothed, stalked leaflets. Leaves are shining green above and pale on the underside, about 10 cm long. The lateral leaflets have asymmetrical bases. Flowers are tiny, yellow-green, in spreading flat-topped clusters. Flowers have petals about 5 mm long, with 4-5 stamens. Fruit is a black berry.

1. Botanical Name : Vitis lanata Roxb.

2. Family : Vitaceae

3. Common Nam : Wild grape

4. Name in Indian languages

Bhambay (Himachali), Asajiya, Asoja, Paharphuta, Purain (Kumaoni), Kolo, Kolo nari (Santali).

5. Description

Vitis lanata grow naturally throughout the sub-Himalayan tract, ascending up to 1,500 metres in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It is woody climber.

6. Origin and distribution

It is native of East Asia from Himalaya to China. It grow wild in the northwestern Himalayan foothills. It is found in hills upto 1500 metres in the Himalayas particular on moist open rocky places.

1. Botanical Name : Xeromphis spinosa (Thumb.) Keay

2. Family : Rubiaceae

3. Common Name : Thorny Bone-apple, Common emetic nut

4. Name in Indian languages

Mainphal (Hindi), Ghela, Khajkanda(Marathi), Madkarai (Tamil), Karacchulli (Malayalam), Marrga (Telugu), Kaarekaayi-gida (Kannada), Patova (Oriya), Madanah (Sanskrit), Kare pan (Kodwa).

5. Description

Xeromphis spinosa is a plant of family Rubiaceae. It is a spiny, deciduous shrub or small tree growing up to 7 metres tall. The plant sometimes adopts a climbing habit. The fruits matures in the month of June-July. The whole fruit expect the seed is consumed at ripe stage.

6. Origin and distribution

It is native of East Asia, Southern China, Indian subcontinent, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia. It is found all over India except higher hills. It is also found in the Himalayas, up to an altitude of 1600 m. It is common in hilly area of Rajasthan.

1. Botanical Name : Zizyphus nummularia Burm. f.

2. Family : Rhamnaceae

3. Common Name : Jhar Ber

4. Name in Indian languages

Jhar ber, Bordi, Jharberi (Hindi), Bhubadari (Bengali), Mulluhannu (Kannada), Junglebor (Marathi), Bhu-kartaka (Sanskrit), Narielandai (Tamil), Nelaregu, (Telugu), Poast jharberi (Urdu).

5. Description

Jhar ber (Ziziphus nummularia) is a most commonly occurring branched thorny shrub species in the Indian desert with a height of 1-2 m. It occupies almost all the habitats including crop lands and grazing lands. It is found growing naturally on farm lands and spreads through root suckers and also by seeds. It forms an integral part of rain fed farming system in arid zones of Rajasthan. Underground suckers of jhar ber remain dormant during summer season but they sprout with monsoon rain and complete the life cycle including vegetative growth, flowering and fruiting by November-December. The bushes are headed back at ground level after the kharif cropping season is over.

1. Botanical Name : Zizyphus rugosa Lamk

2. Family : Rhamnaceae.

3. Common Name : Wild Jujube, wrinkled jujube

4. Name in Indian languages

Churna, Suran (Hindi), Toran, Turan (Marathi), Totari (Tamil), Thodali, Tutari (Malayalam), Gottichettu (Telugu), Belahadu, Mulluhannu (Kannada), Kotte pan (Kodwa).

5. Description

Zizyphus rugosa is a large armed, spiny, evergreen tree growing around 5 - 9 metres tall with large elliptic usually subcordate leaves, paniculate flowers and wood is reddish, moderately. This plant is found chiefly in deciduous and semi-evergreen forest, hills and mountains below 1200 m altitude. The leaves are simple, and are broadly elliptic and short tips. Fruits are globose or pyriform, white when ripe. Whole fruit expect the seed is consumed at ripe stage. It is found in degraded forest areas of entire of Western Ghats. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine.

Family : Amaranthaceae

Flowering : October-December

Fruiting : December-January

Botanical description

The plant is an erect, straggling or subscandant herb. The leaves are ovate, elliptic, obtuse, acute and finely attached to the stem on both sides. The flowers are greenish white in colour, bracteolate having membranous blade and seeds are reddish brown in colour, sub-cylindric at apex and rounded at the base.

Family : Euphorbiaceae

Flowering: July-September

Fruiting: September-December

Botanical description: The plant is a small erect herb, growing up to 60 cm or more. The ascending branches are angled and velvet-hairy. Leaves are broadly ovate, nearly triangular, rather coarsely toothed. Leaf stalks are as long as or longer than the 3-5 cm long blades. Flowers are stalkless, borne on erect axillary spikes longer than the leaves. Male flowers are minute, crowded distally. Female flowers are scattered along the inflorescence axis, each subtended by a conspicuous semicupular leaf-like toothed green bract nearly 7 mm long. Capsule is bristly and1 mm broad.

Ecology: It is mostly found in hot, low to medium altitude, sandy margins of rivers, seasonal water courses and pans, usually in shade of thickets, on rocky hillsides and often in disturbed ground and as a weed of cultivation.

Family : Amaranthaceae

Flowering: August-October

Fruiting: November-January

Botanical description: The plant is a perennial sub-erect, diffuse or prostrate herb, growing upto 0.3-2 meter high, branched from the base and often also from above. Stem and branches are densely woolly with whitish or yellowish, shaggy hairs. Leaves are alternately arranged, nearly circular to lanceo shaped-elliptic, wedge-shaped at the base, rounded to sharp at the tip. Flower spikes are stalkless, solitary or usually in clusters in leaf axils, silky white to creamy in colour, forming a long inflorescence leafy to the ultimate spikes.

Ecology: This plant is commonly found in open forests on mountain slopes, on waste and disturbed ground and coastal scrubs. The plant is widespread in drier parts of the tropics and subtropics.

Use: Leaves are collected, fried and then eaten

Family : Amaryllidaceae

Flowering: December-January

Fruiting: January-February

Botanical description: It is a herb. The leaves of the plants are cylindric, fistular and look like tubes. Flower of the plant is white or greenish white with a short pedicel.

Ecology: The plant is commonly cultivated along the river banks during winter season. The plant loves to grow in sandy and loamy soil.

Use: Young leaves and shoots are collected, fried then eaten. The leaves and the flowering stalks are used for various preparations and curries.

Family : Amaryllidaceae

Flowering: November-December

Fruiting: January-February

Botanical description: The plant is a herb. The leaves of the plants are flat, linear with sheaths, about half of their length. Flower of the plant is white or greenish white with a short pedicel. The plant is having bulbs with membranous outer scales in the axils of which do exist 10-12 lesser bulbs.

English Name: Node Flower Allmaina

Family: Amaranthaceae

Flowering: May-June

Fruiting: June-July

Botanical description: The plant is an annual herb. It is erect and rising, 10-50 cm tall. Stem is branched from or near the base. The Leaves are obovate, oblong, or linear with 1.5-6.5 mm long and 0.3-2.5 cm wide. Flowers of the plant are greenish or orange-red in colour with 3-7-flowered cymes. Seeds are single, black and shining with 1.5-2 mm in diam.

Ecology: The plant is a common weed widely distributed in forests and cultivated lands.

Family: Amaranthaceae

Flowering: July-October

Fruiting: November-January

Botanical description: The plant is a perennial herb. The plant is a much branched prostrate herb, branches often purplish, frequently rooting at the lower nodes. The leaves are simple, opposite, somewhat fleshy, lanceolate, obtuse or subacute, glabrous and shortly petiolate. The flowers of the plant are small, white and in axillary clusters. Fruits are compressed obcordate utricles, with suborbicular seeds.

Family : Amaranthaceae

Flowering: Most part of the year

Fruiting: Year round

Botanical description: The plant is an evergreen creeper, herbaceous and perennial, growing up to 15 – 30 cm in height and spreading to form a growth mat about 45cm wide or more. Stems are prostrate or erect and moderately branched, hairless below, generally hairy above and in leaf-axils. The leaves are inverted-lanceolate or narrowly elliptic, acute at apex, narrowed at the base into a poorly defined petiole, mostly 2-6 cm long and 0.6-2.0 cm wide. Round or short-cylindrical flower heads lie stalkless in leaf axils, 5-10 mm long and 5-7 mm wide.

Use: Young leaves and shoots are collected, fried and eaten as green vegetables

Family: Amaranthaceae

Flowering: November-December

Fruiting: January-March

Botanical description: The plant is a herb, reaches heights of over 1 meter tall with fleshy oval shaped leaves that are sometimes pointed at the tips. It is having a deep maroon colour in the center of the leaf with streaks of red, purple and green. The plant produces feathery purple, magenta or red flowers from the central stalk which is packed with edible seeds. The flower buds are edible, once they mature and become bushy.

Ecology: The plant is commonly used as leafy vegetables and cultivated throughout the country. The plant loves to grow in the sandy soil in winter season. It is also cultivated in left over potato fields.

Use: Leaves and young shoots are cut into small pieces, cooked with salt and chilly and then eaten. Sometimes the leaves and shoots are mixed with vegetables in cooking.

Family: Amaranthaceae

Flowering: June-August

Fruiting: September-November

Botanical description: The plant is an annual erect herb that grows upto 1 meter in height. The stem is grooved and often redish. The leaves are long-petioled, ovate or elliptic, acute or subacute with base shortly cuneate to attenuate. The flowers are in axillary and terminal red or green panicled spikes with up to 20 cm long. Seeds are black in colour, shining and compressed or subspherical with thick margin.

Ecology: The plant being commonly used as leafy vegetables, is cultivated throughout the country. The plant loves to grow in soil rich with organic materials. The plant is commonly cultivated in summer and it grows luxuriantly in rainy season.

Family: Amaranthaceae

Flowering: June-August

Fruiting: September-December

Botanical description: The plant is an annual herb with sometimes red tinged erect stems, sometimes ascending, 30-150 cm long, usually branched. The leaves are ovate to rhombic- ovate, elliptic, lanceolate-oblong, or lanceolate, blades 1-12 cm long, 0.89-6 cm wide and smooth. The stem and its branches carry spines. Flowers of the plant are green, and are in axillary clusters in the lower part of the plant and in unbranched or branched spikes in the upper part. The lower clusters are entirely without stamens as the lower flowers of the spikes, the upper flowers in the spikes are staminate. Seeds are dark brown or black in colour.

Family: Amaranthaceae

Flowering: June-August

Fruiting: September-December

Botanical descripion: The plant is an erect tropical annual herb with long-stalked leaves, growing up to 5 ft tall. The leaves grow up to 5 inch long, are notched or rounded at the tips. The flowers are whitish-green or red white, the seeds are very small, shining, black or red- brown in colour.

Family: Amaranthaceae

Flowering: Throughout the year

Fruiting: Throughout the year

Botanical description: The plant is an annual herb with erect stems growing upto 10-80 cm in height. The leaves are triangular-ovate to narrowly rhombic, 2-7 cm long, 1.5-5.5 cm wide, hairless, with a narrow and small narrow notch. The flowers of the plant are green, in slender, paniculate spikes, in leaf axils or at the end of branches. Fruit is nearly round, about 1.3-1.5 mm in size.

Ecology: The plant is a fairly common weed on waste ground and roadsides and distributed throughout India. The plant is also cultivated during summer season.

Use: Leaves and young shoots are collected, roasted and eaten

Family: Acanthaceae

Flowering: September-December

Fruiting: January-April

Botanical description: The plant is an erect annual herb extremely bitter in taste (all parts of the plant). It grows erect to a height of 1-4 ft. with dark stem. The leaves are glabrous, lanceolate, pinnate, with 8.0 cm long and 2.5 cm broad. Flowers of the plant are small, white-purple or spotted purple in colour, spreading axillary and terminal racemes or panicles and acute at both ends. Seeds numerous, sub quadrate and yellowish brown in colour.

Family: Araceae

Flowering: July-August

Fruiting: November

Botanical description: The plant is a herb, growing about 90 cm in height. It produces 2 - 3 leaves, 5 - 30cm or more in size with a flowering stem 30 - 50cm long. Leaflets are lanceolate, acuminate and oblique, uniting in an intramarginal nerve. Fruiting head 5 cm long, ovoid, berries are initially green clustered fruits finally ripening to bright red.

Family: Meliaceae

Flowering: February-May

Fruiting: June-July

Botanical description: The plant is a tree. The leaf of the plant is about 20-38 cm in length, leaflets 5-9 pairs and obliquely lanceolate. Flower is white in colour and fragrant. The plant bark, leaves and flowers are bitter in taste.

Family: Poaceae

Flowering & Fruiting: The plant flowers after about 90-100 years. Flowering and fruting occurs in wet season

Botanical description: The plant is a perennial tree growing up to 20-53 m in height and 8-18 cm in diameter. There are 1-3 spines at each branch node. Leaves are thin, linear, up to 20 cm long, 1-1.8 cm wide with a long pointed tip. The branches of the plant spread out from the base and areal roots reaching up to nodes. The length of the internodes is about 15-46 cm and is hollow.

Ecology: It is cultivated and naturalized throughout India. Plant loves to grow in moist soils.

Family: Basillaceae

Flowering: May-September

Fruiting: October-February

Botanical description: The plant is a twining succulent herb with green stem and petioles. Leaves of the plant are broadly ovate and green to purplish in colour. Flowers are pinkish or purple in colour. Fruits are berries, ovoid or depressed-globose, turns black after ripening with deep purple juice.

Family: Caesalpiniaceae

Flowering: September-February

Fruiting: February-March

Botanical description: The plant is a moderate sized tree with ashy or dark brown bark. Leaves are often oblong, about 5-18cm, deeply lobed from one third way down to nearly the base with scarcely overlapping. Flowers are purple and large on terminal panicled racemes. Pods are 15-30×18-25 cm long, narrow below, somewhat broadening upwards.

Family: Caesalpiniaceae

Flowering: April-June

Fruiting: December-March

Botanical description: The plant is a climber growing up to 10-30 m long. The woody stem can get as thick as 20 cm. The spreading tout branches are covered with rusty fine hairs. The stout tendrils are coiling and occur in pairs. Large leaves are 10-45 cm, 2-lobed with a broad cut. The flowers are white, 2-3 cm across, turn yellow when old and borne in rounded clusters. Fruit is a flat woody pod with fine rusty hairs, 20-30 cm long.

Family: Caesalpiniaceae

Flowering: February-March

Fruiting: April-May

Botanical description: The plant is a moderate sized tree growing up to 20-40 ft tall and 10-20 ft wide with a spreading crown of briefly deciduous leaves which are 10-15 cm across and rounded with lobed ends and heart shaped bases. The leaves are shaped like a cow’s hoof. The flowers are white or purple in colour with one petal variegated yellow, 5-10 cm across and carried in clusters at the branch tips. The flowers often make their first appearance in late winter while the tree is bare of leaves. Seeds of the plant are sub-orbicular in shape.

Family: Cucurbitaceae

Flowering: October-November

Fruiting: December-January

Botanical description: The plant is a annual climbing herb, having stems up to 6 metres long that scramble over the ground or climb on other plants, supporting themselves by means of tendrils. Leaves are roundish, kidney-shaped, base deeply heart-shaped. Upper surface is rough, lower surface shortly bristly, 5-7-lobed, with long and hairy stalk. Tendrils are slender and rarely simple. Flowers are yellow in colour, calyx tube 10-15 mm long with spreading petals ending in a short point. Fruits large, succulent, densely hairy when young, with a thick waxy deposit when mature.

Family: Nyctaginaceae

Flowering & Fruiting: Most parts of the year, mostly dry winter season

Botanical description: The plant is a prostrate herb with diffuse inflorescences. The stem of the plant is glabrous or minutely pubescent and often purplish. The leaves are in unequal pairs, broadly ovate with obtuse or rounded apex. Flowers are very small, purplish red to reddish pink or nearly white, bell-shaped beyond the constriction.

Ecology: It is a common weed found near dry and warm river valleys; along roadsides, near habitations, in and along cultivated fields and in open cleared patches in forests. It is distributed throughout India.

Family: Brassicaceae

Flowering: September-November

Fruiting: December-February

Botanical description: The plant is an annual herb with stems reaching up to 1.5 m tall. Stems are erect, reddish-purple below, greenish-red above, hairless, arising from large thickened taproot up to 10 cm in diameter. Leaves are large alternately arranged and hairless, upper smaller. Lower leaves are up to 25 cm long, pinnately cut, with small prickles above and below. Flowers are yellow in colour, borne in racemes at the end of branches with 2 cm across. The pods are stout, 5-9 cm long bearing 30-80 seeds with whitish, yellow or brownish in colour.

Use: Leaves are fried with oil then eaten and also chopped leaves and stems are dried in shade, stored in an earthen pot for consumption.

Family: Brassicaseae

Flowering: November-February Fruiting: February-March

Botanical description: The plant is a herb with white edible mass of abortive flowers aggregated on thick branches of the inflorescence.

Ecology: It is widely cultivated as vegetable in the tropical countries including India. The plant grows in winter season.

Use: Leaves are fried or made into curry and consumed. Inflorescence is used in various types of preparations.

Family: Brassicaseae

Botanical description: The leaves of the plant is having stout nerves, densely congested into a subglobose or ellipsoid head which is edible.

Ecology: The plant is a herb, widely cultivated as vegetable in the tropical countries including India.

Use: Leaves are fried separately or with other vegetables, and then eaten

Nutritional Value: The plant is rich in vitamin B and minerals.The nutritional value of the plant is presented below. 100g of the plant leaves carries:

Family: Brassicaseae

Flowering & Fruiting: August-March

Botanical description: The plant is having a short stem, enlarging into a spherical edible tuber. Basal cauline leaves are broadly ovate, not overlapping on globose stem, about 10-45 x 3-25 cm across with cuneate base.

Ecology: The plant is a herb, widely cultivated as vegetable in the tropical countries including India. The plant loves to grow in late winter season.

Family: Amaranthaceae

Flowering: August-October

Fruiting: November-January

Botanical description: The plant is a herb, growing up to 60-75cm height, erect, branching with oval or lanceo-shaped, with hundreds of tiny flowers packed in dense spikes of silver- white flowers which usually stand above the foliage. They are beautiful plants with soft, dense feathery spikes, produced in profusion. Leaves are lanceolate, linear, acute to acuminate tapering into slender petiole. Seeds are several, black in colour and shining.

Family: Apiaceae

Flowering: August-October

Fruiting: November-January

Botanical description: The plant is a small creeping herb with shovel shaped leaves emerging alternately in clusters at the stem nodes. The runners lie along the ground and the inch long leaves with their scalloped edges rise above on long reddish petioles. The insignificant greenish- to pinkish-white flowers are borne in dense umbels (clusters in which all the flower stalks arise from the same point) on separate stems in the summer. The seeds are pumpkin-shaped nutlets 0.1-0.2 cm long.

Ecology: It is commonly seen in shady, damp and wet places such as paddy fields and in grass thickets and distributed throughout India.

Use: Leaves and young shoots are collected, roasted then eaten