This study is based upon the collections made over more than 30 years prior to 1943 by Ralph Steward at Rawalpindi in northwestern India. It was in 1911, as a young instructor there, that Steward commenced the gathering of specimens, & in 1912 that he made his first trip into Kashmir. Since then he had been repeatedly into the Himalayas, spending vacations in Kashmir & collecting in adjacent territory north to Baltistan & east to Ladakh; he traversed the mountains of Lahul & Kulu, & also summered at Landour above Dehra Dun. Author Pennell made Stewart¿s acquaintance in 1914 & 1915. Pennell asked that on his return to India he would pay particular attention to the Scrophulariaceae, a request that Stewart amply answered. 25 plates.

This book presents a comprehensive guide to traditional immunity-boosting medicinal plants of the Himalayas, their traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, diversity, conversation, biotechnology, toxicology, as well as future prospective. All the chapters cover the latest advances in ethnobotany, phytochemistry, biochemistry, and biotechnology. The book offers a valuable asset for researchers and graduate students of chemistry, botany, biotechnology, microbiology, and the pharmaceutical sciences. The main purpose of the present book is to draw on the rich culture, folklore, and biodiversity of immunity-boosting medicinal plants of the Western Himalayas, with particular emphasis on the Indian Trans-Himalayan and Western Himalayan region. All the plants included in the present book are extensively used by the local tribes and people for their health-promoting properties from ancient times. This book will be a substantial contribution to the knowledge of the region and the country. Also, the book will be very useful to scientists, graduates, and undergraduates, along with researchers in the fields of natural products, herbal medicines, ethnobotany, pharmacology, chemistry, and biology. Further, it is an equally significant resource for a person working in different traditional medicinal systems; doctors (especially those engaged in Ayurveda, Chinese traditional medicinal system, Amchi, and allopathy); the pharmaceutical industry (for drug design and synthesis); biochemistry and biotechnology sciences; and the agricultural sciences.