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About the BookAbout the AuthorTable of Contents

Indian Medicinal Plants, based on a treatise prepared by S. Raghunatha Iyer, a scholar of both Sanskrit and Ayurveda, aims to make an authoritative contribution to the field. The original work which drew upon classical texts and current research, as well as the oral medical knowledge of tribal groups has been updated by scholars associated with the Arya Vaidya Sala in Kottakal, India. This unique compendium offers profiles of 500 key species with detailed taxonomic information. One of the leading features of this compilation is the special technique used in the illustrations, both colour and line, which aims to achieve authenticity of texture, colour and form. The book also lists the distribution and popular nomenclature in English, Sanskrit, Hindi, Malayalam and Tamil. The main texts present properties and uses in a format which cites ancient verse texts and ethnobotanical sources. This rare work, in five volumes, should be of special interest to practitioners of alternative medicine, students of Ayurveda, the research and industry associated with medical botany, pharmacologists, sociologists and medical herbalists.

Arya Vaidya Sala

P K Warrier, Managing Trustee of the Arya Vaidyasala, Kottakkal, Kerala.

V.P.K.Nambiar, former systematic botanist at the Kerala Forest Research Institute and a specialist in the flora of the Western Ghats.

C.Ramankutty, a learned physician of the Arya Vaidyasala, Kottakkal, Kerala.

Abelmoschur esculentus
Abelmoschus moschatus
Abies spectabilis
Abrus precatorius
Acacia caesia
Acacia catechu
Acacia leucophloea
Acacia nilotica
Acacia polyantha
Acacia sinuate
Acalypha indica
Achyranthes aspera
Aconitum heterophyllum
Aconitum napellus
Acorus calamus
Actiniopteris dichotoma
Adenanthera pavonina
Aegle marmelos
Aerva lanata
Agaricus campestris
Ageratum conyzoides
Alangium salvifolium
Albizia lebbeck
Albizia odoratissima
Allium cepa
Allium sativum
Allophylus serratus
Aloe barbadensis
Alpina galangal
Alstonia scholaris
Alstonia venenata
Alternanthera sessilis
Amaranthus spinosus
Ammania baccifera ssp.baccifera
Amomum subulatum
Amorphophallus paeoniifolius ar.companulatus
Anacardium occidentale
Anacyclus pyrethrum
Anamirta cocculus
Ananas comosus
Andrographis paniculata
Anethum graveolens
Anisomeles malabarica
Annona squamosa
Anogeissus latifolia
Aphanamixis polystachya
Aquilaria agollocha
Arachis hypogaea
Arecca catechu
Argemone mexicana
Argyreia nervosa
Aristolochia bracteolate
Aristolochia indica
Artemisia nilagirica
Artocarpus communis
Artocarpus heterophyllus
Artocarpus hirsutus
Asparagus racemosus
Averrhoa carambola
Azadirachta indica
Bacopa monnieri
Baliospermum montanum
Bambusa arundinacea
Barringtonia acutangula
Basella alba var.rubra
Bauhinia variegate
Benincasa hispida
Beta vulgaris
Betula utilis
Biophytum sensitivum
Bixa orellana
Blumea lacera
Boerhaavia diffusa
Bombax ceiba
Borassus flabellifer
Boswellia serrata
Brassica juncea
Brassica oleracea var.capitata
Buchanania lanzan
Butea monosperma
Caesalpinia bonduc
Caesalpinia sappan
Cajanus cajan
Calamus rotang
Callicarpa macrophylla
Calophyllum inophyllum
Calotropis gigantean
Calycopteris floribunda
Camellia sinensis
Canavalia gladiata
Cannabis sativa
Canscora decussate
Canthium parviflorum
Capparis deciduas
Capsicum annuum
Cardiospermum halicacabum
Careya arborea
Carica papaya
Carissa carandas
Carthamus tinctorus

Appendix A
Appendix B
Index to Sanskrit Terms