FUTURE PROSPECTS FOR THE CRITICALLY ENDANGERED MEDICINALLY IMPORTANT SPECIES, CANARIUM STRICTUM ROXB. A REVIEW

An increase in the consumption of flora, in the name of medicine and timber, critically affects biodiversity, thereby drawing a multitude of indigenous plants to be endangered. Canarium strictum Roxb. is an indigenous and endemic plant species of Eastern and Western Ghats. It is a large, resinous tree species, commercially harvested for dammar, throughout South and South East Asia. Due to its overexploitation and the loss of habitat, it was found to be an endangered species and, therefore, required urgent attention for its conservation. Its traditional medicinal and spiritual importance helps yield references that make us understand its links with the culture and tradition of our country. This study was undertaken to bring about awareness among the harvesters and environmentalists, to take voluntary measures for the conservation of such red-listed plants, so that they remain available to the generations to come.