Medicinal Plants - International Journal of Phytomedicines and Related Industries

Gandrayan (Angelica glauca Edgew.; Family-Apiaceae), a high value medicinal cum edible herb, is native and endemic to the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) and now, ‘critically endangered’. Roots of this species yield essential oils which fetch high prices due to multiple utility in modern medicine including Aromatherapy. The present article highlights conservation status and utilization pattern of this species in three Himalayan States viz., Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir where its roots have been indigenously used as spice and medicine. Among various factors, untimely destructive harvesting of the roots has been observed as one of the key reasons of poor regeneration and rapid reduction in sparsely distributed wild populations. Development of sustainable harvesting techniques to sustain natural regeneration and domestication in home gardens for utilization as a spice and medicine as household level are being suggested as remedial measures. To meet ever increasing industrial demands, more efforts need to be put in place for systematic commercial cultivation of this species. An appropriate conservation management strategy has also been suggested in the article.