Manual of Non-Wood Forest Produce Plants of Kerala

Contents: Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Natural habitats. 3. Earlier works. 4. Data sources. 5. Importance of non-wood forest produces. 6. Conservation aspects. 7. Format. 8. References cited. 9. NWFP plants of Kerala. 10. Products index. 11. Glossary of medical terms. 12. Index to specimens examined. 13. Index to local names. 14. Index to botanical names.

From the preface: "Forest resources include both timber and non-timber or non-wood produces. While timber products are available from natural forests, forest plantations and also from non-forest areas, Non-Wood Forest Produces (NWFP) are mostly generated by the natural forests, except for a few items available from forest plantations. In terms of variety, non-wood forest produces are quite diverse and include plants yielding items like medicine, food, fodder, gum, resin, spices, condiments, beverages, fibres, dyes and tans, and ivory, honey, wax and few such items of animal origin. The products are either directly used by the tribal and rural people in their day to day life or are processed or marketed on a fairly large scale by industries, mainly for the consumption of urban population. The collection, utilization and marketing of non-wood forest produces are also directly linked with the lifestyle and livelihood of forest dwelling tribals and also the rural population living along forest fringes, adding a social dimension to this category of forest resource. This manual deals with various non-wood forest produce plants of Kerala state, either extracted at present or those having potential as the source of many of the items mentioned above."