Plants of the Epic Ramayana

The present book titled Plants Mentioned in The Epic Ramayana Retrospection and Current Status is a relook to the plant and trees mentioned in the great Epic as a basic focus but in the light of present development / transformations taken places at different locations / forests mentioned in the Epic besides religious connections and current importance. With these objectives in mind, the book has been written. It has seven chapters - Introduction, Ramayana the Epic, Journey to the forest and route map, Plants and Trees Mentioned besides their botanical description highlighting morphological and floral characters and other relevant details. The main purpose was to establish right botanical identity as per current international nomenclature besides ascertaining conservational status to know the existence of those plants at present and degree of threat of their survival, if any. Major vegetative and floral characters have been provided so that readers can know details of the plants.

R. K. Roy is a renowned Horticulturist in India in the field of Ornamental Horticulture with specialization in Floriculture and Landscaping. He had worked in reputed organization / research institute like The Agri-Horticultural Society of India (AHSI), Kolkata; CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Lucknow in various capacities. Dr. Roy has been deeply involved in R&D work on Floriculture and Landscaping since last 40 years. He has made significant contribution by introduction of new ornamentals, assessment, multiplication and popularization for commercialization. Diversification of Agriculture and popularization of Floriculture, both in open field and in Poly-house, for the north Indian plains was a major contribution towards the benefit of small and marginal farmers. He had coordinated organization of many training programmes on Floriculture & Landscaping for the farmers, entrepreneurs besides unemployed youths. Dr. Roy has developed 16 new varieties of ornamentals (Bougainvillea, Canna, Gladiolus, Putranjiva) which are popular in floricultural trade. Moreover, he had developed core collection of many groups of ornamentals viz. Bougainvillea, Canna, Cycads, Cacti & Succulents, Gladiolus etc. during his service tenure. Considering his outstanding contribution, he was awarded with many national and international awards / fellowships like Dr. B.P.Pal Award, Bougainvillea Society of India, IARI, New Delhi; Commonwealth Science Council Fellowship, U.K.; Coke Trust Award, RHS; Financial Award by Royal Horticultural Society, London, U.K.

He is Life Member of many prestigious national and international societies viz. Indian Society of Plant Genetic Resources, The Bougainvillea Society of India, Indian Society of Ornamental Horticulture, The Horticultural Society of India, Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy, International Society of Environmental Botanists, International Society for Horticultural Science, Belgium, Sr. Vice-President, Bougainvillea Society of India, IARI, New Delhi.

Dr. Roy held international position as Vice-Chair, Commission Landscape & Urban Horticulture, International Society of Horticultural Science, Belgium. He has international exposure in the form of scientific visits and professional trainings from many renowned countries viz. China, France, Germany, Poland, Singapore, Switzerland, The Netherlands, United Kingdom etc. He was specially trained on Ornamental Gardening, Plant Conservation Techniques and Management of fully climate controlled Green House from The Royal Horticultural Society, London; Royal Botanical Garden Kew and The Eden Project, Cornwall, United Kingdom; Warsaw Botanical Garden, Poland; Natural History Museum & Arboretum, Paris, France.

Dr. Roy has authored 21 books in the field of Ornamental Horticulture. Some of the important books are - ‘Ornamental Annuals’, ‘House Plants’, ‘Kitchen Garden’, ‘Gladiolus’, ‘Gerbera’, ‘Bougainvillea’, ‘Marigold’, ‘Ornamental Climbers’, ‘Ornamental Trees of India’, Fundamentals of Garden Designing’, Home Gardening, ‘Bulbous & Rhizomatous Plants’, ‘Ornamental Climbers, Chrysanthemum & Coleus, Ornamental Trees – Diversity & Aesthetics etc.