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A number of medicinal plants, herbs and trees are found in Indian forests. The leaves, stems, flowers, fruits, barks, roots, and seeds of different plants and scrubs are used as raw materials for the manufacture of a number of medicines. Some of the important herbs used for medicines are aconite, Keera-jari (insect herb), celery, belladone, colocynth, sarasaparilla, jalap, leadwort, chitraka, serpentine, and liquorice. The root of serpentine is an antidote for snake and insect bite.
Barks of mountain ebony, Indian oak, quinine, Spanish-cherry, bay berry, lodh tree, Indian red wood, ashoka, arjuna, and Indian barberry have medicinal value. The stem of ephedrine, white sandal wood, catechu, and long needle pine arc also of great medicinal importance. Leaves of vasaka, Indian aloe, poison-bulb, fever-nut, life plant, swallow wart, Indian-penny-word, Tasmanian blue gum, physic-nut, holy-basil, betel, pepper, and typlophora yield different drugs.
Similarly, flowers of saffron, iron-wood, violet and fruits of bel, fish-berry, purging-cassia, coriander, cumin, fennel, emblic, opium, long-pepper, black and white pepper, belleric, myrobalan, ammi and solanum are used in medicine making. Keera-jari (insect herb) known as cordyceps sinensis is highly valued as a tremendous energy booster which cost about Rs. 2.5 lakh per kg.