Agricultural production in the Himalayas had been under constraints over the centuries. Frequent spells of food shortages had, therefore, necessitated the search for alternate food sources. As a consequence, a large number of wild edible plant species known variously as lesser-known, under-utilized, ethno-botanical, ethnomedicinal plants were found to be useful. The Himalayas provide suitable habitats for the occurrence of a wide array of medicinal and wild edible plant species. These plant species have a high potential for exploitation as a source of rare vitamins, minerals, essential amino acids/fatty acids. The need of the hour is their immediate bioprospecting so as not to get deprived of their patenting rights to someone else. Chapters on subsidiary food plants of J&K, H.P., Uttarakhand, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura give information on wild edible plant species with their local names and edible parts used. A chapter on 'New contributions from the Himalayas' provides information on the status of plant species employed for ethnobotanical uses in the Himalayas. It also gives details of species which were recorded for the first time for edible use. The book brings out the hidden wealth of plant species researched by innumerable unknown farmer scientists to not only sustain human life during scarcity but also open up a treasure of information. The book will be of much use to the plant genetic resource researchers, scholars, phytochemists, social scientists, nutraceutical industries, nutritionists, pharmacologists and healthcare scientists.
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