The fact that the Western Ghat hosts a rich variety of flora is no new information. Volumes written about the flora of this region bear witness to this fact. For botanists, this forest range has always been a pilgrimage center - either to take the students on a practical study tour, or for research projects, etc. My emphasis is not just on the wealth of flora, but on the rich indigenous knowledge which has sprung out of it, and on the village community - especially women who possess this knowledge, and on their socio economic status. Knowledge gathered over generations has fallen prey to modernisation, now. The present education system in India has a 'fixation' on the cultured society of the 'first world' countries, which has resulted in the younger generation being I.T. savvy, but blind to its own cultural roots and wealth of knowledge.

The botanists who are preoccupied with the identification and classification of plants rarely connect the plant to the vast wealth of traditional knowledge and the use to which that plant is put. The people who have been associated with them are 'knowledge - rich and resource - poor' section of the society.

Thus there are many unanswered questions: why have these people remained poor, with so much natural wealth around them? Why are we unable to encash this wealth of information? Is this a wealth in the first place? If so, who should profit by it and how? How can these people get the benefit out of it? "Benefit" in terms of what? Is it money? Or standard of living? What are the parameters for judging this standard of living?

The people living within and around the densely grown forest area have more useful information than the botanists who formally study them. Women especially are rich in terms of this knowledge. Their knowledge and practical use of it have been generated not just out of curiosity, but rather out of necessity. This is time-tested information, which the generations have chiseled to perfection and precision. It was orally communicated and hence there are no authentic records or systematic ways of learning them.

However, with the new flood of information and well - researched books, is anyone eager to learn the traditional knowledge system? Leave alone the outsiders- even the descendents and relatives of these knowledge - rich people are neglecting this.

Kumbarakodu and Shankarapura are small villages between Chikamagalur and Shimoga districts of Karnataka. These villages are nestling amidst forest and hills. Every family has a small patch of forest attached to their farm on which it doesn't have property rights but has all the rights to collect dry leaves and fuel wood for domestic purposes.

Women depend mainly on these for their livelihood. Nagaratna is one such woman who goes to work as domestic help in others' houses. Major part of her work is to collect these leaves. She works as a daily wage laborer.

One day I went in to the forest with her and was really stunned by her knowledge. She identified each plant in the forest with a local name, which she had learnt from her parents, and she also knew the specific use of each plant. I felt as if I was surrounded by a treasure! There were Shashirekha and Nalini with me who were born and brought up in the same village now settled in Bangalore. They too introduced me to many more plants while walking through the side ridges(banks) of the field and passing through arecanut plantations. Neither Shashirekha, Nalini nor Nagarathna are ready to consider it as any form of knowledge or education / training. Education is supposed to bring them a salaried job, but who cares for their knowledge about plants? Shashirekha and Nalini's children who study in English medium schools hardly care for the wealth of information they have. Even Nagarathna's daughters who are in village rarely accompany her to the forest, rather they are forced to mug up the information in the books. The schools they go to in the village never has anything to say about their surroundings. No teacher gives them marks for their knowledge in things of practical importance to their lives.

The knowledge which has been disseminated through an oral culture doesn't seem to have any future left for it, because the community net work supporting it has collapsed as well as the confidence in those fruits of experience which have given way to modern information and new discoveries. We are paying a high price both by losing our native knowledge systems and by being colonised by the same knowledge sold to us through the laboratories - under a patented and costly label! By the time we realise what we have lost, it would be too late to re-establish the already-loose links between present community, past - knowledge sources and future strategies for use.

Each piece of information they gave was valuable and I tried to record every one of them, for the fear of losing them without being recorded. I have made a list of plants based on their uses. For some I could find the exact botanical nomenclature, but still many remained without being identified scientifically.

I. Medicinal and aromatic plants:

The local women know the medicinal value of these herbs, by their repeated use in everyday life. Thus the scientific authenticity of the information about these herbs is practically proved by many generations of people who have used it successfully. If each plant they identify is chemically analysed and components extracted, and if the local youth were given opportunity and taught the skill to do that work, it may lead to some really good pharmaceutical formulae.

• 'Ollekudi' (Memecylon malabaricum): For skin problems such as rashes on skin and for chicken pox the leaves are crushed and the extract is applied on skin before taking bath and the leaves are also eaten as medicine.
• 'Alale' (Terminalia chebula): Fruits are dried and oil is extracted from them. This oil is applied to the hair for a cooling effect.
• 'Vayu vilanga' (Embelecia ribes): Leaves are used as medicine for leg pain.
• 'Dalchini' (Cinnamomum zeylanicum): The smell of the bark is similar to that available in market as cinammomum. Oil is extracted from the leaves of this tree and is applied to wounds as medicine.
• 'Tumbe' (Leucas aspera): The leaves are mixed with turmeric and are applied to skin as ointment to control skin allergy and irritation. Flowers are boiled in milk and consumed as a medicine for common cold.
• 'Vasinge gida' (Embelecia ribes): This is a medicine for leg pain.
• 'Heddumbi' (Ocimum adscendens): Extract of leaves when applied to skin of cattle takes care of insects (ticks, etc) on their body.
• 'Uguri balli': It is used as medicine to cattle.
• 'Chandrakkana gida': The paste prepared with its leaves along with common salt when applied between toes ,controls the skin problem which especially arises in rainy season.
• 'Goddu Arishina': Tubers are dried and crushed into powder. This powder is a good medicine for loose bowels.
• 'Kardisoppu' leaves are the best medicine to control worms problems in stomach.
• 'Chidorolli' : It is a variety of jasmine. The liquid oozing out of the stem is used as medicine for eye problem.
• 'Aavunki balli': The stem, when squeezed and its fragrance inhaled, gives a relief for migraine head aches.

II. Plants used as fodder:

Does one have to think of growing fodder trees/shrubs artificially for fodder? I wonder whether our fodder research institutes ever considered this as vital area for research instead of finding new mixture of feeds and concentrating on efforts to invent new hybrid crops!

• 'Salle' (Aporosa lindleyana): Besides being used as fuel it is also a good fodder.
• 'Kendlare', Gurugi'and 'Baccharu': The leaves of these trees are used as fodder.

III. Plants used for timber and furniture:

• 'Bogi' (Hopea parviflora): This wood is very strong and durable hence is used for constructing buildings.
• 'Haiga' (Hopea wightiana): Belonging to the same genus of Hopea, the tree and its leaves are bigger in size compared to 'Bogi'.
• 'Nearale' (Syzigium jambolanum): This is a big tree. It is called 'common jamun'. Its timber is used for the construction of buildings.

IV. Plants used for consumption (vegetable/fruits):

With the life styles changing no one has time to collect leaves grown here and there in field or forest. Many of them are grown naturally and are not brought under systematic cultivation. Thus they still remain as under -exploited crops. Many fruits, which are available in particular seasons, are considered as minor fruits and except those villagers, outer world hardly knows or cares about it. I still wonder what the nutritional and medicinal value of these fruits may be, if they are analysed systematically. Before venturing into genetically modified crops which boast of this particular protein or that particular amino acid, shouldn't we be spending our time /energy /money and intelligence on analysing these under- exploited crops?

• 'Salle' (Aporosa lindleyana): It has white fruits of the size of arecanut and is sour in taste.
• 'Pannerale' (Jambosa vulgaris): The fruits are tasty and are bit sour and sweet.
• 'Hebbalasu' (Artocarpus hirsuta): It is a type of Jackfruit smaller in size and is tasty.
• 'Bellante' (Albizzia procera): The leaves are used as leafy vegetables.
• 'Vayu vilanga' (Embelecia ribes): Leaves are mixed with rice to make 'Dosa'.
• 'Nekkarike' (Melastoma malabarica): The fruits are of the size of Areca nut. Red outer skin and black inside. Fruit is sweet to taste.
• 'Ranjada hannu' (Mimusops elengi): The flowers are fragrant and bear fruits in summer. Fruits are 4-5 cm. in length and yellow in color. The fruit skin is thick and has a single seed similar to that of sapota/ chikku fruit.
• 'Hippe hannu' (Bassia latifolia): The fruits are in the shape of a flower. Juice of fruits can be sucked.
• 'Vaate huli' (Ochlandra scriptoria): This is used as an alternative to tamarinds. Fruits are cut and dried in sun. These dried fruits can be stored for a year.
• 'Balige hannu' (Poeciloneuron indicum): The fruits are red in color and are of almost the size of orange fruits. They are sweet to taste.
• 'Deevi halasu' (Artocarpus incia): It looks like jackfruit but is smaller in size. Raw fruits are used as vegetable and not used when it is ripe.
• 'Nearale' (Syzigium jambolanum): This is big tree. It is called common jamun. Fruits are blackish purple in color.
• 'Naai nearale' (Syzigium operculatum): This is biggest among jamun trees. Fruits are blackish purple in color.
• 'Kunnearale': It is a small tree. Fruits are also small. Blackish purple in color and are very tasty.
• 'Bemmarala hannu': These fruits are of the size of common jamun, white in color and sweet to taste.
• 'Karji hannu': These fruits are available in rainy season. It is of the size of lemon and the taste is a mixture of sour and sweet.
• 'Jeerukala hannu/Moothimurukana kai': The fruits are dried in sun and stored in the form of a paste. This is used instead of tamarind and is supposed to add more taste particularly to non - vegetarian dishes.
• 'Hulige hannu': This fruit is light red in color when fully ripe. Skin of the fruit is covered with ash-like coating. These fruits ripen in summer. Each fruit is about 3-5cm long and has a single seed.
• 'Kallusampige hannu': This fruit is green in color and round in shape. Each fruit has 5-10 seeds. The fruits are sour to taste and ripen in summer.
• 'Nelamavu': It has fragrance of raw mango and the leaves are used as leafy vegetable.
• 'Halande': It is a runner whose leaves are used for cooking special items for young mother after birth of the child.
• 'Pandavara balli': The use is similar to that of 'Halande'.
• 'Kardisoppu' is used as a leafy vegetable, which is little bitter in taste, and there is a particular way of cooking this to reduce bitterness.
• 'Boodi bilu' is also used as leafy vegetable specially for making dosa (a South Indian preparation).
• 'Goddu Arishina': Tubers are dried and crushed into powder. This is used to prepare certain food items and sweets.
• 'Vasinge gida': Mixed with rice it is used to make Dosa and 'Saru' (a sort of curry).

V. Plants with minor utilities:

• 'Doopa' (Vateria indica): The fruits are collected and used for extraction of oil. This oil is used as non-edible oil for many purposes.
• 'Hulisoppu' (Memecylon amplexicaule): It is used to make brooms, which are ideal for sweeping the yards.
• 'HaluBeelu' (Chamesyce hypesifolia): The stem, which is a runner, is used to make baskets.
• 'Basarimara' (Ficus infectoria): Wax is collected from this tree and is also used as fuel.
• 'Belale': Used for fuel and its leaves for cattle shed.
• 'Holagarana mara': It is used for fuel. But unlike any other fuel wood it has to be used only when it is fresh and cannot be used after storing.
• 'Pille mara': It is used as fuel and the leaves spread as bed for cattle in the shed.
• 'Hotale mara': This also is used as fuel and its leaves are spread in cattle shed.
• 'Jabada balli': The stem is used to tie animals in cattle shed.
• 'Ettubilu': Its stem, which is a runner, is used as a rope to tie the bundle of twigs. The stem is so strong that it is even used to make big baskets to collect dried leaves.
• 'Kanchigana mullu': The whole plant is full of thorns and thus used by farmers to prevent the entry of rodents into field by spreading it around the field.
• 'Hunase Balli': It is used similar to 'Ettubilu'.
• 'Goddu Arishina': These plants are commonly seen in arecanut plantations. Presence of these plants indicates the availability of ground water at that place.
• 'Bellante' (Albizzia procera): This is used for washing hair and acts as a natural hair conditioner besides enhancing hair growth.
• 'Lakki' (Litsea chinensis) During storage of grains, they are mixed with these leaves which act as pesticide.
• 'Mundaga': This is a thorny tree. Fruits look like small jackfruit. Fruits are cut into two halves and dried. The dried ones are used as brush particularly to clean bathrooms.
• 'Ombattane soppu': The leaves are burnt and the ash is mixed with cow dung and soil to apply in front of house to prevent ant and termite attack.

All this information I learnt from two villages. There are many more such trees in this western ghat region and several such women in these areas who know all these things. There are trees whose fruits yield oil that tastes like ghee. Perhaps a 'Shodh Yatra' (a search project or search tour) in these areas consisting of botanists, teachers and students from schools/colleges and mahila mandals (women's forum) of the area, would be able to bring out many more such Nagarathnas, Nalinis or Shashirekhas to lime light.

Dr. Tejaswini Sharma is a Scientist in Indian Horticultural Research Institute, Hesarghatta near Bangalore. She is also associated with Hittala Gida, a farmer friendly journal as its sub editor.