Palm oil derived from Elaeis guineensis, Elaeis oleifera and their hybrids represents about 40 percent of all the vegetable oils produced in the world,  preferred due to its higher yield compared to other oilseeds and lower price. Government of India has launched the National Mission on Edible Oils- Oil Palm (NMEO-OP), in 2021 which proposes to increase the area to 1 Mha and crude palm oil production to 1.12 Mt by 2026 and 2.8 Mt by 2029-30.  One of the potential areas identified is the Northeast India, and in this context this review examines the experiences of oil palm planting in the Northeast India, the present programmes and its socio-economic and ecological impacts, besides the consumption, supply and import of edible oils which have necessitated the oil palm expansion.

Orchidaceae is ecologically sensitive and morphologically diverse angiospermic family of the plant kingdom. The present study investigates the diversity and distribution patterns of endemic orchids of Indian Himalayan Region (IHR). Total 115 endemic orchid taxa (114 species; 1 variety) were recorded from IHR. Endemic orchid richness was found maximum in Arunachal Pradesh (49), followed by Sikkim (26), and Meghalaya (21). Bulbophyllum (13) emerged as the most dominant genera followed by Dendrobium (11). Along the elevation gradient a monotonic decline was observed towards higher elevation and maximum (56%) endemic orchids were recorded from lower (100-1000 m asl) elevations, however only 5% species were recorded above 3500m asl. Total 20 species have been listed under IUCN threat categories viz., Critically Endangered (16), and Endangered (4). Overall, the population trend of threatened orchids is decreasing and recorded stable for only one species. Shifting agriculture, unscientific collection, cutting of host trees and road construction/widening are among the major threats recorded for Himalayan orchids. The study recommends in-situ and ex-situ conservation of these species along with intensive field explorations to identify more habitats/populations of endemic orchids across IHR.

The ethnic community in Pali, Umaria has a tradition of using multiple plant species for treating various diseases. Besides their role in folk medicine, certain plant species also have significant economic and cultural value for indigenous people in different regions. A total of 42 ethnomedicinal plant species, belonging to 38 genera and 31 families, were documented for treating 30 different ailments. The most frequently used plant species was Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Hook.f. and Thoms., with 144 use reports (URs) and a Use Value (UV) of 2.441. The quantitative analysis revealed intricate relationships among variables: Use Value (UVs), Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), Relative Importance (RIs), Number of Uses (NUs), and Use Reports (URs). The ICF (Informant consensus factor) values ranged from 0.88 to 1. Notably, psychiatric conditions and cardiovascular problems exhibited the highest consensus, with ICF scores of 1 and 0.98. The findings indicate that the use of traditional medicinal plant treatment is still prevalent in the research area. The Baiga and Gond communities are the primary practitioners of traditional knowledge. It is crucial to promptly implement conservation measures using quantitative tools to safeguard biodiversity, cultural heritage, and community well-being.

Women of tribal communities and rural areas are hesitant to freely discuss their reproductive health issues. The lack of awareness and access to basic medical care make them more prone to gynaecological disorders and traditional medicine is their sole source of treatment. Aim of this work is to identify and document the herbs which are used by ethnic women to cure gynecological disorders in the Nurpur valley of district Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, India. Semi-structured questionnaires were employed to gather ethnogynaecological data. Quantitative analysis of collected data was done through Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC), Use Value (UV), Fidelity Level (FL%), and Informant Consensus Factor (ICF). A total of 25 medicinal plants from 24 genera and 18 families are being used for the treatment of different gynecological problems. Maximum number of medicinal plants recorded in Fabaceae and Asteraceae families. Hence, the recorded plant data would act as a foundational reference for subsequent advanced investigations on nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals agents against gynaecological problems.

The present paper reports the ethnomedicinal plants traditionally used by the tribal and rural communities in 11 districts of Bihar. A total of 45 ethnomedicinal plant species belonging to 25 families and 43 genera were reported to be used in the treatments of various skin ailments. These first hand ethnomedicinal information were collected directly from the field survey in tribal populated rural areas of the districts including villages and their adjacent forests. During the survey, interaction was done with several tribal groups as well as other non-tribal people of the areas to collect the information.