Plants in Mithila rituals.
Jha V., Saraswati K. C., Mishra S., Basak P. K.
Author Affiliation: Department of Botany, C.M. Science College, Darbhanga 846?004, Bihar, India.
Ethnobiology in human welfare: abstracts of the fourth international congress of ethnobiology, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, 17-21 November, 1994. :192
Abstract : The major plant species utilized in Mithila rituals include Desmostachys bipinnata [Desmostachya bipinnata], Sesamum indicum, Hordeum vulgare, Cynodon dactylon, Oryza sativa, Phaseolus mungo [Vigna mungo], Saccharum officinarum, Santalum album, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Cocos nucifera, Aegle marmelos, Mangifera indica, Piper betle, Leucas cephalotes, Musa sapientum [M. paradisiaca], Ocimum sanctum, Saccharum spontaneum and Pterocarpus santalinus. The region is rich in its wetlands and as such water plants like Nelumbo nucifera, Euryale ferox, Nymphaea nauchali [N. nouchali], N. stellata, Aeschynomene aspera, Ipomoea aquatica also find a place in its rituals.