MEDICINAL PLANTS OF THE HIMALAYA

K. BISWAS

The Kanchenjunga and the other snowy peaks—many of which reach an altitude of 20,000 feet and above——form, lower down, a vast amphitheatre for diverse types of alpine, sub-alpine, temperate and tropical vegetation. The rich vegetation of both the Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas is unique and is well known for its abundance of species and luxuriance of growth. Both the flowering plants, from the tiny delicate Viola and Gentian to creeping Frageria, the tufted Potent ilia, Androsace, Saxifraga, Cassiope, Arenaria and other alpines occurring in the grassy glades and alpine screes and meadows to the giant Magnolia, Quercus, Acer, Betula, Cupressus, Larix, Cedrus and Abies (Fir trees), Juniperus of the temperate rain forests and the non-flowering Cryptogams—Fungi, Algae, Lichens, Liverworts, Mosses, Lyco- podiums, Selaginellas, Equisetums, Ferns including the tall tree fern Cyathea spinulosa—all grow in well-ordered successions forming complex plant communities at different elevations from the foot of the mountains up to the snows.

Of all the flowers, the Rhododendrons of Darjeeling and the Sikkim Himalayas are the glories of these hills. There is no fairer country in the world than the slopes of the Himalayas where forests of Rhododendrons abound. 'I held my breath in awe and admiration. Six or seven successive ranges of forest-clad mountains, as high as that whereon I stood wrote Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, from Darjeeling, ' intervened between me and a dazzling white pile of snow-clad mountains, among which the giant peak of Kanchenjungha rose, 20,000 feet above the lofty point from which I gazed. Owing to the clearness of the atmosphere, the snow appeared, to my fancy, but a few miles off, and the loftiest mountain at only a day's journey. The heavenward outline was projected against a pale blue sky. Such is the region of the Indian Rhododendrons. It may not be my lot again to live amongst them but from afar in quiet contemplation, I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills.'

To the botanist the Himalayas are the treasure-house for not only the study of the plants growing there but also for plants new to science and particularly those plants which are of great medicinal and economic value for the welfare of mankind. These plants grow in the following altitudinal successions:

Himalayan Journal

1. Dwarfed association of straggling cushions of Rhododendron and herbaceous ground vegetation of Rheum- Arenaria, Saussurea, Myricaria, Gentiana and others (15,000-18,000 feet).
2. Juniperus-Rhododendron association and herbaceous Potentilla, Primula, Anemone, Cassiope, Meconopsis and other ground and scree vegetation (12,000-14,000 feet).
3. Abies - Juniperus - Rhododendrons - Cotoneaster - Ber- beris - Gaultheria - jRasw association (11,000 feet).
4. Abies - Webbiana - Rhododendron - Rosa - Viburnum - Cotoneaster association (10,000 feet).
5. Que reus - Betula - Tsuga - Picea - Cedrus - Cypressus - Rhododendron - Rosa - Bambusa - Arundinaria association (8,000-9,000 feet).
6. Quercus - Betula - Bambusa - Magnolia association (7,000 feet).
7. Engelhardtia - Castanopsis - Schima - Saurauja association (6,000 feet).
8. Machilus - Michelia - Castanopsis - Magnolia association (5,000 feet).
9. Schima - Ostodes - Castanopsis association (4,000 feet).
10. Duabanga - Castanopsis - Eugenia - Phoebe - Calicarpa - Erythrina association (3,000 feet).
11. Shorea - Lagerstroemia - Steriospermum - Terminalia - Garuga - Albizzia - Erythrina association (2,000 feet).
12. Shorea - Phoebe - Dellenia - Amoora - Eugenia - Bauhi- nia - Cedrela association (1,000 feet).
13. Taller herbaceous, Savannah or Grassland, association in sandy and moist Terai region, and Areca catechu, Dal- bergia sissoo, D. latifolia and Albizzia, Acacia association along the river bank of the Duars and Terai regions.

Out of about 18,000 species of flowering plants, known to grow in India, at least 2,500 species are supposed to possess medicinal properties. Of these at least 25 per cent are found to occur in the Himalayas at different elevations. For centuries herbalists all over the world sought among the vegetation in the mountains plants possessing healing properties. As in Europe, in India, too, herbalists and medicine-men in days of yore ascribed various supernatural powers to plants growing in the Himalayas. One such plant is the Mandrake, a species of which is common in Sikkim—Mandragora caulescens, Clarke. The alkaloid contents of this vegetable drug are Hyoscyamine, Hyoscine, Mandragorine. Mandragora has an aphrodisiac property and, when taken with wine, relieves pains. It is also soporific, like the poppy:

(Othello, Shakespeare)

 

' Mandrake root resembles the human body and it is used as a charm. It is carried by the women of Eastern Europe as a charm against sterility. Mountaineers in the Alps often carry it as a protection against mishap' (T. L Williams). The ancient method of collection of the root is: ¹ One should draw three circles round the Mandrake with a sword, and cut it with one's face towards the west: and at the cutting of the second piece one should dance . . . round the plant . . . One should lso, it is said, draw a circle round the black hellebore . . . and one should look out for an eagle both on the right and on the left; for that there is danger to those that cut, if your eagle should come near, that they may die within the year.'

^1’ Common Medicinal Plants of Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas’, by Dr. K. Biswas, 1956. Government of West Bengal.

The flowers of Ketaki (Pandanus), found wild in the foothills of the Sikkim Himalayas, are worn on the braid of hair by girls to win the love of their lovers. Lord Siva, the story goes, after being defeated in dice-play with Parvati, felt ashamed and, hiding himself in the Ketaki woods, was absorbed in deep meditation. Parvati took the form of a beautiful young girl and, with Ketaki flowers in her braid, approached Siva. The sweet scent of Ketaki attracted Siva's attention and thus disturbed his trance. Siva was pleased to see Parvati in disguise but cursed the Ketaki plant. This plant botanically known as Pandanus furcatus Roxb. is found to grow mainly along the Duars at an elevation of 2,000 to 5,000 feet, as tall palm-like trees, all over the hill-slopes, with characteristic prop- roots at the base and bifurcated branches towards the top of the stem. The long sword-like dentate leaves are borne in tuft at the end of branches and its large fruits are hard, like those of Ananas (see photo 1). Its flowers are used for flavouring drinking- water and preparation of scents.

Ketaki is an aphrodisiac and also induces sleep. The root of Ketaki taken with milk prevents abortion. The flowers are said to cure headache and sustain energy in climbers. The seeds cure wounds in the heart.

Many legends are current among hill tribes about the miraculous cures of herbalists, medicine-men, Lepchas and Lamas living a secluded life in remote monasteries and gompas in the high mountains of Sikkim. Before the advent of Western medicine, the hill tribes for centuries mainly depended upon indigenous plants for curing their diseases. Mountaineers would do well to take leaves and twigs of Urtica parviflora Roxb. so common between 3,000 and 7,000 feet after it has been cooked by Sherpas. The acid should be decanted after boiling. Cardamine hirsuta Linn, is equally a palatable spinach when eaten cooked or fresh. It occurs in abundance from 1,000 to 10,000 feet. This is a wonderfully invigorating drug and acts as a tonic. Leaves of the fern Adiantum capillus-veneris Linn, pasted with pepper are used in curing fever and, mixed with honey, relieve cold. Decoction of the leaves cures pain in the stomach. Fresh juice taken with sugar or honey is used to cure the irregular monthly course in women. Other soft ferns are eaten as vegetables. Large succulent flesh-like tissue of the parasitic fungus Polyporus sulphureus, found growing on old stumps of trees at an elevation of between 4,000 and 10,000 feet, is edible. It is cooked and eaten like meat curry by Sherpas, Nepa- lese and other hill people.

With the recent introduction of the European system of treatment of diseases, the discovery of synthetic drugs and antibiotics and with the advancement of the Western medical science, these medicines reaching even into the interior of these hill ranges, the primitive system of treatment of diseases is fast disappearing. Moreover, due to the secretive nature of these herbalists and medicine-men, knowledge and use of some of the really efficacious vegetable drugs are dying out with the old veterans and headmen of the villages. These men are generally superstitious and cherish an inherent belief that, if the secrets handed down to them from generation to generation about the wonderful uses of plants are given out to unauthorized persons, the efficacy of the plants will not only be reduced but they themselves are likely to meet with bad luck or even die on account of the wrath of the presiding deity of their forests. It becomes, therefore, extremely difficult to collect authentic and detailed information from the hill folk on the use of indigenous plants in the treatment of various diseases by the hill men.

Nevertheless, there remains, as will be seen from my book,¹ a large number of medicinal plants of great value to science in the East and the West Himalayas. It is common knowledge that Ephedra—E. sexatiles Royle. var. sikkimensis (Staff.) Florin— locally called in Tibet Ma Houng, is a specific remedy for asthma. It generally occurs in temperate, sub-alpine and alpine Himalaya and Western Tibet in the bleak and barren snowy region between 7,000 to 12,000 feet and 12,000 to 16,000 feet in Sikkim. It is a cardiac and circulatory stimulant. Its chemical analysis shows that it contains 0-5698 per cent alkaloid calculated as ephedrine. Saussuria lappa Clarke is another alpine plant with dark purple flowers commonly known as Kuth. It grows in the Western and the Eastern Himalayas from 8,000 to 12,000 feet. The sweet- scented root of this Kuth is a valuable medicine for colds, asthma and skin diseases, and even leprosy. The Betula utilis Don. commonly known as Bhujapatra, growing in the temperate Himalaya and Western Tibet, from Kashmir, altitude 7,000 to 12,000 feet, to Sikkim and Bhutan, altitude 9,000 to 14,000 feet, is a useful medicine. The decoction of the bark is used as a wash in gonorrhoea, poisonous wounds and pus. The infusion of the bark is used as a carminative ; it is prescribed also in hysteria. It has also certain aromatic and antiseptic properties. Podophyllum emodi Wall, is another interesting plant which has been subjected to a vigorous investigation in a European laboratory. It grows from 6,000 to 14,000 feet in the temperate rain forests from Kashmir to Sikkim. It is known as ' Vegetable Calomel\ as its action somewhat corresponds to that of mercury. Recently it has attracted world attention, as it has been found that this plant has the property of curing certain types of cancer. The Sikkim variety of this plant seems to be more potent than the Western Himalayan plant. Rauvolfia serpentina Benth. (see sketch 7), ^‘ Chandra' as it is known to local people, contains the well-known alkaloid Reser- pine. It is not only, as its name signifies, an antidote to the bites of poisonous reptiles and stings of insects but is also a febrifuge, a good remedy for insomnia and is used to reduce blood-pressure. It would be very useful for mountaineers to collect the root from the forest and to carry it with them, as it has a property of inducing peaceful sleep and in lessening blood-pressure. Melastoma mala- bathricum Linn., a very common weed, is found in the middle hill forest all along the Himalaya at an altitude of 6,000 feet. It is easily distinguished by its characteristic purple flower. The juice of the leaves and root is used to relieve indigestion. The stewed flowers act as a nervous sedative and are used to reduce piles and haemorrhage. Woodfordia floribunda Salisb. is another species common all over the Eastern and the Western Himalayas at an elevation from 3,000 to 6,000 feet, and is abundant all along 6 the sides of the Sutlej and Teesta rivers. It is a spreading shrub with pendant branches overhanging from the hill-sides. The attractive red flowers are dried and used as an efficacious remedy for dysentery. Dried flower is sold in Darjeeling market. The flowers made into a paste are applied to sores and boils and are used in piles and liver complaints. Dichorea febrifuga Lour, is the ⁶ Basak' of these mountains. It is easily distinguished by its attractive blue flowers. The root is efficacious in the treatment of malaria without after-effects (unlike quinine) and is freely used by hill folk. Hydrocotyle asiatica Linn, and H. javanica Thunb are other species found in the Western and the Eastern Himalayas from Kashmir to Bhutan at an elevation of 2,000 to 8,000 feet. The leaves are used for throat paint, diphtheria and pneumonia. Powdered leaves with milk are taken to increase brain-power and the effect is said to be really invigorating. Another small deep-rooted ground weed with bright yellow flower, like the daisy, is Taraxacum officinale Wigg. It grows all over the Himalayas, from Western Tibet to the Assam foot-hills even up to 18,000 feet, and is a valuable medicine. The root is officinal, being alternative tonic and cholagogue. It is useful in dyspepsia, chronic infections, especially in torpor and congestion of the liver, and in jaundice and chronic cutaneous diseases. It is a tonic, aperient and diuretic and is said to have an almost specific action on the liver, by modifying and increasing its secretion. The dried root, when powdered, is frequently consumed, mixed with coffee. When roasted and powdered, it has also been used as a substitute for coffee. This readily available vegetable drug is a ⁶ must⁵ for mountaineers. To mention another plant, which is the most attractive tree, is the well-known Rhododendron arboreum Sm. It occurs everywhere in the Himalayas, from Kashmir to the Burma hills, at an elevation of 5,000 to 10,000 feet. There are different varieties of this species growing at different places in the Himalayas. The flowers are crimson, sometimes pink and, rarely, white. It is a wonderful sight when it is found all in bloom, flowering gregariously and covering large patches of sub-temperate and temperate hill forests. Its scarlet petals, fresh or dried, are used effectively in dysentery and hill-diarrhoea. The flowers of the Simla Hills and other neighbouring areas of the Western Himalaya are considered to be more efficacious than those of the Eastern Himalaya. This is very useful to mountaineers, as the stomach is liable to be upset sometimes in drinking unwholesome water while climbing. The common ⁴ MistletoeViscum album Linn., is widely used by hill men in curing fractures of bones. The plant, made into a poultice, is applied to the affected part and bandaged with chips of wood. It acts wonderfully well.

Some valuable exotic plants of great medicinal value were introduced and acclimatized by some of my illustrious predecessors —Sir George King, Dr. T. Anderson and Sir David Prain. These plants played a great part for over a century in alleviating the miseries of people suffering from malaria and other diseases in India and other parts of the world. This is the well-known quinine-yielding cinchona plant. The cinchona served mankind for many years but now synthetic drugs are gradually replacing it (see photo 4).

Another plant of great medicinal value, which is in great demand at present, is Psychotria ipecacuanha Hook, (see photo 2 and sketch 5). This is the genuine emetine-yielding plant. This plant was introduced in India in 1866 and it was successfully cultivated. The plant is indigenous to Brazil. It was grown in hot-houses of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, some time in 1832. It actually flowered in Glasgow in 1843. It reached Edinburgh via Glasgow and then the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew. Kew took the initiative in introducing this drug to India in 1866, when one plant was sent by Dr. Hooker overland to Calcutta. In 1871 some 50 plants reached the then Royal Botanic Garden, Calcutta, and Dr. George King reported in 1875 the success of growing this Ipecac plant in Lumbini, where it multiplied in large numbers. The Government of West Bengal, in 1953, or thereabouts, thought of undertaking cultivation of this plant on a large scale as demand for quinine was gradually falling, due to synthetic anti-malarial medicines flooding the market. Cultivation of this plant along with other medicinal plants has, therefore, become imperative in order to balance the State economy and rehabilitate the labourers of this part of the hills bordering Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim and Tibet. The present plantations of Ipecac in the Darjeeling district at Rongo and Mungpoo are the largest in the world. Emetine is being manufactured on a large scale by Whiffens & Sons Ltd., who have established a large factory in Calcutta. Mentha, Digitalis, Atropas, Hyoscyamus and others are also under cultivation. Digitalis yields digitalin, the well-known remedy for heart disease (see photo 3).

It is also not out of place to mention some of the poisonous plants of the high mountains, so that the mountaineers may guard against smelling or using these plants, roots, leaves, flowers, fruits and seeds with sometimes fatal consequences. Of these may be mentioned the well-known Aconitum—Aconitum ferox Wall. (see sketch 6), A. nepellus Linn., A. heterophyllum Wall, and others are dangerously poisonous plants occurring in sub-alpine and alpine belts. The alkaloid Aconitine, which is found in underground tubers, is used to poison arrows, and as fish poison, too. Brugmansia suaveolens Berchh. and Presl, with its large drooping white bell-shaped flowers, and also Datura sp.—Datura metal Linn.—Cannabis sativa Linn., Arisaemas, Laportea sp. and many other poisonous plants should be avoided, however attractive their foliage and flowers appear to be.

Mushrooms are mostly poisonous; it is difficult to distinguish the edible from non-edible ones. These should be avoided, although the porters are tempted to take some of them; they act as a slow poison. Poisonous yams of Dioscorea species should also be avoided and only edible ones should be taken. Diosgenin for cortizone is extracted from rhizomes of two species—D. deltoidea Wall, and D. prazerii. The latter is receiving the attention of the world as the base for Diosgenin for manufacturing cortizone and contraceptive pills.

There are many other medicinal and poisonous plants found growing in the Western and the Eastern Himalayas. There are sweet-scented honeysuckle, Jasminum, Michelia and other aromatic Juniperus, Rhododendron setosum D. Don., R. lanatum Hk. f. and other plants too. Some of these plants are undoubtedly useful for mountaineers and are sold in Darjeeling market for burning as incense. These local vegetable drugs are very efficacious and might be tried in the absence of synthetic drugs. The old Lepchas and Sherpas are generally medicine-men and their help can safely be sought for urgent relief. Mountaineers visiting the Himalayas every year, therefore, would benefit from a knowledge of these plants, so that they could be used as food or medicine in an emergency and avoid poisonous species.

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