Three Himalayan medicinal plants enter IUCN Red List

Published: 15th Dec, 2022

Context

In a recent assessment, three medicinal plant species found in the Himalayas have been added to the IUCN ‘Red List’ of Threatened Species, providing them conservation status.

About

About the species:

Species listed:
- Meizotropispellitaas ‘critically endangered,
- Fritilloriacirrhosa as ‘vulnerable’
- Dactylorhizahatagireaas ‘endangered’.
Found in:the Himalayan region spread across Nepal, India, China, Sikkim, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
Threats:Deforestation, habitat loss, forest fires, illegal trade, and climate change.

Significance of the species:

Meizotropispellita, commonly known as ‘Patwa’, is a perennial shrubwith a restricted distribution that is endemic to Uttarakhand.
- The species is listed as ‘critically endangered’ based on its limited area of occupancy (less than 10 sq. km).
- The essential oil extracted from the leaves of the species possesses strong antioxidants and can be a promising natural substitute for synthetic antioxidants in pharmaceutical industries.
- Fritillariacirrhosa(Himalayan fritillary), used for the treatment of bronchial disorders and pneumonia. The plant is also a strong cough suppressant and a source of expectorant drugs in traditional Chinese medicine.
Dactylorhizahatagirea(Salampanja),is extensively used in Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, and other alternative systems of medicine to cure dysentery, gastritis, chronic fever, cough, and stomach aches.
It is a perennial tuberous species endemicto the Hindu Kush and Himalayan ranges of Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

IUCN is an international organization (NGO) working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.
The organization is best known for compiling and publishing the IUCN Red List, which assesses the conservation status of species worldwide. Its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland.
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, founded in 1964, is the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species.
When discussing the IUCN Red List, the official term “threatened” is a grouping of three categories:
- Critically Endangered
- Endangered
- Vulnerable

The pink pages in IUCN document include the critically endangered species. As the status of the species changes, new pages are sent to the subscribers.

Green pages are used for those species that were formerly endangered but have now recovered to a point where they are no longer threatened.

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Three Himalayan medicinal plants enter IUCN Red List

In a recent assessment, three medicinal plant species found in the Himalayas have been added to the IUCN ‘Red List’ of Threatened Species, providing them conservation status.