ETHNOBOTANICAL STUDIES ON DIFFERENT SPECIES OF BERGENIA IN HIMACHAL PRADESH, INDIA

Indigenous practices provided invaluable knowledge and aided in making best use of natural resources as it was dynamic in dissemination and scientific in indigenous experimentation. Bergenia in world, represented by10 species are widely distributed in Himalayas. The paper deals with the ethnobotanical value of two species along with their distribution in different districts of Himachal Pradesh (H.P.), recorded through interviewing rural populace of the region. The paper had also taken into account the perception of local people about the effectiveness of plants for medicinal and other uses. The work aimed at the preservation of this depleting traditional knowledge.