Family:  Amaranthaceae Synonyms:  Amaranthus acutilobus, Amaranthus gracilis Common name: Wild amaranth, slender amaranth, green amaranthus Local name:  Chaulayee (चौलाई), Jangali Chaulai Chaulayee is a cosmopolitan herb. It is commonly present in all warmer regions of India. Plant is a vigorous herb that grows wild during summer season in Western Himalayas

Family: FabaceaeSynonyms; Cassia numilis, Cassia obtusifolia,Cassia gallinaria, Cassia tora Common name:   Sickle senna, sickle pod, tora, coffee tora. Local name: Yelo(येलो), Raily (रैली) Yelo plant grows on dry soils. It is commonly found in wastelands throughout the mid-hill regions and can be seen growing on very wide climatic range starting

Family:  Boraginaceae Synonyms: Cordia wallichii, Cordia myxa, Cordia latifolia,Cordia dichotoma Common name: Clammy Cherry, Sebesten plum Local name:   Lasura, (लसूडा),Lassora, Lessora, Lasora Lassura is a quite widely distributed plant growing all over India.  However, in western Himalayas its trees are seen growing upto an elevation of 1500 metres only.  It

Family: Urticaceae English name: Stinging nettle Local name: Koogas, (कूगस,बिच्छूबूटी) Koogas Urtica parviflora is a quite widespread herbaceous perennial plant growing all over the hills up to 3700 meter. There are two other plant known by same local name viz. Urtica dioica and Girardiana heterophylla. All these three plants are

Family: Caryophyllaceae Synonyms: Alsine media Common name:Chikweed Local name: Padyaala (पडयाला) Padyaala grows as a weed, specially, in shady and damp areas upto an elevation of 4000 m in Himalayas. It grows as weed in many other parts of India too. In fact the species Stellaria media is reported to

Family: Ericaceae Synonyms: Rhododendron puniceum, Rhododendron windsorii Local names: Buraans (बुरांस), Braah, Buras, Bras or Barah ke phool. Burans is an evergreen tree in temperate forests of Himalaya between an altitude of 2300 to 3500 metres.  It bears very attractive bright red flowers.  The flowers, which are edible, appear from

Family;  Linaceae Synonyms Linum trigynum, Reinwardtia trigyna Common name: Yellow flax Local Name: Peenyan(पींयां),Piyoli, Basant Peenyan is a beautiful winter bloomer of Himalayas.Peenyan is ashruband very common in forests, mountain slopes, thickets often in calcareous habitat ascending to 1800 m. These beautiful yellow flowers of   Peenyan   seems to say good bye to to 

Family: Cactaceae Synonyms: Cactus indicus Hindi name: Nagfani(नागफनी) Common  name: Prickly pear Local name: Drabhad chhoonh (द्राभड़छूंह),kabuli(काबुलीछूंह). Drabhad chhoonh is wild plant of Western Himalayas found in abundance upto an elevation of 1500 metres. It is a xerophytic plant. Drabhad chhoonh thrives best under conditions of drought and erratic rainfall

Family: Agaricaceae Synonym: Agaricus procerus Common name: Honey combed mushroom, morel. Local name: Guichchhee ( गुच्छी) Guchchhee grows wild in hill forests between elevations of 1500 to 3000 metres.  It grows in the wild only and all efforts made to domesticate it have so far remained futile. This mushroom starts

Family: Fabaceae Synonyms: Medicago denticulate. Medicago hispida Common name: Bur clover Local name: Khokhna (खोखना) Khokhna is native to western and central Asia and countries around the Mediterranean.  It has now spread to all parts of the world and has been introduced widely around the world. It is found in