Diversity and Traditional Uses of Some Poisonous Plants of Arunachal Pradesh

Botany

Poisonous plants have been used by hunter-gatherer peoples worldwide and are still widely used in countries like South America, Africa and Asia. Arrow poisoning and water poisoning in wells have been the prevalent methods to kill tactic civilians as well as combatants in many areas of the world since ancient period. However, in the present state of global affairs where nuclear and chemical weapons are gaining popularity, there is need to preserve such ancient knowledge on poisonous plants which was earlier used in traditional war tactics for self-defense, territorial and national security. In tribal state like Arunachal Pradesh harboring rich diverse ethnic groups, poisonous plants are mainly used for fishing and animal hunting. Our literature on documentation of ethnomedicinal plants have shown that some plants are highly poisonous, however no specific research has been done on poisonous plants found in Arunachal Pradesh. Even in India, only few works on poisonous plants have been done. A total of 10 districts out of total 18 districts of the state were covered for the present study. Present field investigation has revealed that about 60 plants which are traditionally used as poison and for different purposes by the tribal people of Arunachal Pradesh. Most of the poisonous plants are used for fishing and hunting in Subansiri, Siang, Anjaw, Dibang Valley and Kameng sectors.

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