The Himalayan trillium

The Himalayan trillium (Trillium govanianum), a common herb of the Himalayas was declared ‘endangered’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
In recent years, the plant has become one of the most traded commercial plants of the Himalayan region, due to its high medicinal quality.
It has been used in traditional medicine to cure diseases like dysentery, wounds, skin boils, inflammation, sepsis, as well as menstrual and sexual disorders.
Recent experiments have shown that the rhizome of the herb is a source of steroidal saponins and can be used as an anti-cancer and anti-aging agent.
This increased its market value and has now become an easy target for poachers.
Found in temperate and sub-alpine zones of the Himalayas, at an altitude from 2,400-4,000 metres above sea level, the existence of the plant has been traced across India, Bhutan, Nepal, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan. In India, it is found in four states only- Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, and Uttarakhand.
Often called Nagchatri, in local areas this herb grows to a height of 15-20 cm.
Here are several factors threatening the survival of the plant such as over-exploitation, long life cycle – slow to reach reproductive maturity – and poor capacity for seed dispersal.

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