Rare and threatened Medicinal plants of Santhal Pargana, Jharkhand

The paper deals with 18 rare/threatened medicinal plants of forests of Santhal Pargana Division, Jharkhand. Out of such medicinal plants, 10 are rare in occurrence. The threatened categories encompass near threatened (05), vulnerable (01) and endangered (02) medicinal plant species. The list of rare medicinal plants includes Aegle marmelos, Asparagus racemosus, Dillenia pentagyna, Emblica officinalis, Oroxylum indicum, Sterculia urens, Tacca leontopetaloides, Terminalia bellirica, Terminalia chebula, Vitex peduncularis. Among threatened medicinal plants, Acorus calamus, Costus speciosus, Diospyros malabarica, Rauvolfia serpentina, Strychnos nux-vomica represent near threatened; Pterocarpus marsupium vulnerable; Clerodendrum serratum, Gloriosa superba endangered status. All these medicinal plants need urgent conservation and large scale cultivation giving top priority.