Introduction

Meghalaya is very rich in floral diversity, a significant part of which comprises medicinal and aromatic plants. There is a long-standing tradition of use of medicinal plants in the State. The development of the medicinal plants sector has a great scope for providing employment to the people, given the ever-increasing market for these plants domestically and abroad.

The Government of Meghalaya constituted the Meghalaya State Medicinal Plants Board (MSMPB) to handle all matters related to policy formulation, co-ordination of agencies dealing with medicinal plants, local health traditions, sustained availability, validation and certification, and the conservation/preservation of medicinal plants.

Diversity of Medicinal Plants

Meghalaya, with its wide-ranging altitudes, forest types, and resultant agroclimatic conditions, offers habitats for a very large number of medicinal plants. The richness is also the result of the people's traditional knowledge. Although the flora is well known and ethnobotanical publications have been brought out, a consolidated account is still essential due to diverse traditional practices by different tribes.

Altogether, 834 medicinal plant species have so far been reported. Rubiaceae is the dominant family with the maximum number of medicinal plants.

Endemic and Threatened Species

Many medicinal plants are classified as endemic and/or threatened in the state. Eight species such as Camellia caduca, Citrus latipes, Nepenthes khasiana, and Osbeckia capitata are reported to be endemic to Meghalaya only. Thirty-seven medicinal plants are endemic to broader regions but found here.

Seventeen medicinal plant species found in Meghalaya have been classified under the threatened category, including Taxus wallichiana var. baccata, Dendrobium nobile, Panax pseudo-ginseng, and Nepenthes khasiana.