How to prioritise medicinal plants of conservation concern?
The prioritisation of native medicinal plants of conservation concern could be done on the basis of the following; • Their endemism i.e., being confined to narrow regions. Eg: Cycas beddomei Dyer of Central A.P • Enlistment in published Red Data Books, Eg: Hidegardia populifolia • High volume consumption by the traditional medicine industries, Eg: Ravolfia serpertina, Garcinia indica, Coscinium fenestratum • Traded species that involve destructive harvesting. Eg: Pterocarpus santalinus, Decalepis hamiltonii, Oroxylum indicum • Phylogenetic distinctness i.e., fewer number of species per genus or family Eg: Decalepis hamiltonii -monotypic i.e., the genus Decalepis has only one species. The species thus prioritised need to be assessed in order to find out if their populations which are actually under threat and to what extent. How to assess the ‘threat’ status of a species? Top IUCN Threat Categories: IUCN threat categories primarily assess the probability of the species becoming globally
