An ethnomedicinal study on climbers and lianas of Changar region in district Kangra of Himachal Pradesh, India

Climbers and lianas serve as important sources of ethnomedicines, in addition to their role in ecosystem services and vegetation distribution. But, in the present era, traditional knowledge and ethnomedicinal practices of these plants are disappearing rapidly. So, current survey was aimed to record traditional medicinal uses of climbers and lianas in Changar region of district Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, India. Interview method and semi-structured questionnaires were used to document findings followed by collection and identification of plants. Current study documented 52 plant species related to 43 genera of 21 families, utilized to cure 45 types of ailments. Plant parts were consumed directly (26%), followed by preparation of paste (17%) and decoction (13%). Quantitative methods including fidelity level, informant consensus factor, relative frequency of citation and use value were applied to gather information on medicinal plant use. Highest fidelity level (100%) as well as highest use value (0.95) were obtained for Clematis gouriana and Tinospora cordifolia.