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.
Appendix AAppendix BIndex to Sanskrit terms