In a recent study, Pokhrel et al. (2019) estimated the Relative Threat Factor Severity Index (RTFSI) for P. polyphylla in Nepal. The maximum RTFSI value was obtained for illegal collection (0.90) followed by unscientific harvesting (0.83), open grazing (0.75), management and institutional provision (0.69), impacts of climate change (0.61), forest products collection by local users (0.58), developmental activities (0.53), natural hazards (0.53), others (0.33) and forest fire (0.25). Throughout its range, wild-collection for medicinal usage is the most severe threat to the species. High demand has driven its over-exploitation and the species is becoming rare throughout its entire distribution. Illegal trade, inadequacy of trade monitoring, and porous borders contribute to the unsustainable harvest of the species (Kunwar et al. 2020).
Unregulated grazing by livestock also contributes to its declining population. Seed predation by birds, fruit predation by deer, and herbivory of the whole plant (including its rhizomes) by deer, bear, and lagomorphs further threaten the species
Name
Emma Hemmerlé
Scientific Name
Paris polyphylla
Common Name(s)
Love Apple
Satuwa
Tangma
Haimavati
Type of Use
Extractive (i.e., the entire organism or parts of the organism are removed from its environment)
If extractive, for the target species, is this use
Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of
The whole entire organism
Details of parts/products taken
We found that during the harvesting process, the whole plant is often uprooted to collect the rhizome, which leads to the destruction of the stock.
Are specific characteristics/traits being targeted?
Unknown/not recorded
Purpose of Use
Basic subsistence (meeting day to day essential needs)
Income generation from trade at individual or household or community
Largescale commercial exploitation for trade
Additional Details (if available)
Paris polyphylla Sm. is an important perennial medicinal plant of the Himalayas that is increasingly being used in traditional medicines and pharmaceutical industries. It is used as anthelmintic, antispasmodic, digestive and expectorant and to treat vermifuge problems, headache and intestinal worms
What is the main end use for any living organisms, parts or products taken/extracted?
Local people (e.g., individuals, communities, co-operatives)
National / local private sector
International private sector
Is the use part of a strategy to generate conservation incentives, to finance conservation, or to improve tolerance/stewardship?
No
Is there evidence that the use is affecting the conservation status of the species? HIDE
Yes – use is negatively affecting the status (e.g., population is declining; extraction effort is increasing)
Is there evidence that the use is affecting natural selection?
Unknown/not recorded
Is there evidence that the use is affecting poaching of illegal wildlife trade?
Unknown/not reported
Is there any evidence that this use of the species is having a knock-on effect on the status of non-target species
Yes, it is having a negative effect (e.g., prey depletion, stress, disrupted breeding, movement, sleeping, feeding patterns)
Yes, negative (e.g., it destroys/ degrades it due to over-use)
Additional Details (if available)
The accelerated demand is attributed to the large and unrestricted harvestings from the natural population resulting in its decline. This decline is not only limited to P. polyphylla but also extended to its associated species such as Arisaema costatum, Daphne bholua and Trillidium govanianum Wall. ex D. Don. Local depletion of P. polyphylla populations cause a “ripple effect” onto several other species that are harvested and traded as substitutes for P. polyphylla.
Additional Details (if available)
We have found that the high demand for P. polyphylla has driven people to conduct harvests prematurely resulting in habitat degradation
Details of assessment carried out
To meet this accelerating demand, people are harvesting it at unsustainable rates and trading it across Nepal through both legal and illegal means; Illegal trade due to weak database management and porous border has also impacted the sustainability of these harvesting practices and made P. polyphylla vulnerable to extinction;
Has a valuation of financial flows from this use at the site/national/international level been recorded
Kunwar, R., Adhikari, Y., Sharma, H., Rimal, B., Devkota, H., & Charmakar, S. et al. (2020). Distribution, use, trade and conservation of Paris polyphylla Sm. in Nepal. Global Ecology And Conservation, 23, e01081. doi: 10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01081
current harvesting practices are making the species vulnerable to extinctions. For both local uses and markets, P. polyphylla in Nepal is harvested mainly from wild populations and thus its stock is gradually diminishing