Research Article Ethnobotanical Study of Herbaceous Flora along an Altitudinal Gradient in Bharmour Forest Division, District Chamba of Himachal Pradesh, India Kehar S. Thakur, 1 Munesh Kumar, 2 Rajan Bawa, 1 and Rainer W. Bussmann 3 1 College of Forestry, Dr. Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, Solan, Himachal Pradesh 173 230, India 2 Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, H.N.B. Garhwal University, Srinagar, Garhwal, Uttarakhand 249161, India 3 William L. Brown Center, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA Correspondence should be addressed to Munesh Kumar; muneshmzu@yahoo.com Received 19 December 2013; Revised 13 January 2014; Accepted 10 February 2014; Published 27 April 2014 Academic Editor: Wendy Applequist Copyright © 2014 Kehar S. hakur et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. he present ethnobotanical study was carried out in Holi (Deol, Kut, Dal, and Lahaud Dhar) forest range and in Bharmor (Seri, Bharmour, Malkauta, Bharmani, Harsar, Dhancho, Sundrasi, Gorikund, and Manimahesh) forest range to obtain information on the plants used by the local inhabitants for several purposes. A total of 54 plants were recorded in this study. he plants are employed to treat simple diseases (cough, cold, fever, and burns) and some serious diseases (typhoid, jaundice, and kidney disease). Some of the plants are also used as incense for religious ceremonies and several other daily needs. But due to absence of scientiic monitoring of plants, their cultivation, harvesting, and management techniques as well as sustainable use and lack of awareness of social factors, the availability of valuable plant resources is decreasing at an alarming rate. In addition, the indigenous knowledge regarding the use of lesser-known plants of this region is also rapidly declining. herefore, the documentation of plant resources is a necessary step towards the goal of raising awareness in local communities about the importance of these plants and their further conservation. 1. Introduction Ethnobotany is widely regarded as the science of human interaction with plants and their environments. Ethnobotan- ical knowledge is the result of successful experimentation with plants since time immemorial and has given us our recognized foods and medicines. Ethnobotany illuminates the direct relationship between human beings and plants and has proven to be of great utility in the health care programs. Ethnobotany also explores the importance of plants as emergency foods, as well as uncovering useful information about the sociocultural medicoreligious lore and values, phrases and proverbs, taboos, and totems prevailing in a speciic region or society. Over the last century, ethnobotany has evolved into a scientiic discipline that focuses on the people and plant relationship in a multidisciplinary man- ner, incorporating not only collection and documentation of indigenously used species but also ecology, economy, pharmacology, public health, and other disciplines. Today, ethnobotany has become increasingly valuable in the development of health care and conservation programs in diferent parts of the world. Ethnobotanical studies that explore and help to preserve knowledge are therefore urgently needed before traditional folklores are lost forever [1]. he dependence on herbal resources to cure diferent types of diseases is well known. It has been estimated that there are between 3,500 and 70,000 plant species that have been used around the world, at one time or another, for medicinal purpose. At least 65,000 species are used in Asia alone as home remedies for various ailments [2]. he World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that at least 80 percent of the world’s population relies on traditional systems of medicine to meet their primary health care needs. In addi- tion, medicinal plants also form an important part of the world’s economy since many modern medicines are derived from plants. he indigenous systems of medicine practiced in India are mainly based on the use of plants. Every year, the medicinal plant-related trade is growing rapidly, and Hindawi Publishing Corporation Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine Volume 2014, Article ID 946870, 7 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/946870