The Dravyaguna Vijnana is the first work of its kind which comprehensively describes more than 500 of the most commonly used Ayurvedic herbal medicines. For each plant the following information is given: botanical name, common name, Sanskrit and regional names, plant description, flowering and fruiting times, distribution, parts used, chemical composition, pharmacodynamics, properties and actions, therapeutic uses, and common dosages. The author, Dr. Gyanendra Pandey, wrote the material with the guidance of the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM) third year curriculum. The book is intended as a textbook for graduate and post-graduate level studies as well as a reference book for higher studies at the doctoral level for physicians, researchers, pharmacologists, medicinal plant scientists, and the interested layperson. Some terms are given in Sanskrit but a useful glossary of technical and medical terms is provided. An extremely valuable Ayurvedic herbal reference. Publication date: 6/2001