India, March 31 -- Forests have long served as a crucial source of subsistence and economic security for human societies. In India, this relationship remains particularly significant for millions of tribals and forest-dwelling communities, where the central element of this socio-economic connection is Minor Forest Produce (MFP), also known as Non-Timber Forest Produce. It includes all non-timber forest produce such as fruits, seeds, tendu leaves, resins, gums, medicinal plants, honey, bamboo, lac, etc.

Gum karaya, commercially known as Indian tragacanth, is an important MFP obtained from the exudate of the Sterculia urens tree. Also known as the 'ghost tree' because of its smooth, papery, shimmering silver bark with an apparent nocturnal...