Roscoea alpina Royle (Zingiberaceae) commonly known as Kakoli is a perennial medicinal plant endemic to the Himalayas. It has been used in vitality strengthening Ayurveda groups i.e., Astavarga and Jeevaniyagana and in preparation of Ayurvedic formulations e.g., Chyavanprasha and Divya Pidantak Tail. Considering its medicinal uses, high demand and overexploitation, natural habitats were surveyed in subalpine and alpine regions of Garhwal Himalaya for population estimation and to identify elite germplasm. R. alpina frequency was recorded more than 60% in Tungnath, Dayara, Valley of Flowers and Kedarnath populations. However, plant density and area occupied were low compared to other species of subalpine and alpine site. For threat category assessment, IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria were used and conservation status was assigned, based on site to site and for entire Garhwal region of the Western Himalaya. R. alpina, based on extent of occurrence was categorized as Vulnerable and based on number of mature individuals as Endangered for the Garhwal Himalaya. Further, habitat destruction and degradation were the major threats for population reduction in the wild. Morphological variation revealed plants from Tungnath and Kedarnath may be used for future propagation and domestication programs.

中文翻译：

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喜马拉雅山药用药用植物Roscoea alpina Royle的生态特征和传统知识

景天科的Roscoea alpina Royle（姜科）是喜马拉雅山特有的多年生药用植物。它已用于增强阿育吠陀（即Astavarga和Jeevaniyagana）的生命力，并用于制备阿育吠陀（Ayurvedic）的制剂，如Chyavanprasha和Divya Pidantak Tail。考虑到其药用用途，高需求和过度开发，在Garhwal喜马拉雅山的亚高山和高山地区对自然栖息地进行了调查，以进行种群估计和确定优良种质。高山鼠李在通纳斯，达拉拉，花谷和凯达纳斯地区，记录频率超过60％。但是，与其他亚高山和高山站点物种相比，植物密度和占用面积较低。对于威胁类别评估，使用了IUCN红色清单类别和标准，并根据不同地点以及整个喜马拉雅山的整个Garhwal地区分配了保护状态。根据发生的程度将R. alpina归类为“易受伤害”，并根据成年个体的数量将其归类为Garhwal喜马拉雅山濒危物种。此外，栖息地的破坏和退化是野生种群减少的主要威胁。形态变异表明，来自Tungnath和Kedarnath的植物可用于未来的繁殖和驯化计划。