Expression from an Idiot by birth:

Both Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFPs) and Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) refers to what is earlier known as Minor Forest Products (MFPs). The use of "MFPs" terminology has been discontinued as it seems to greatly mis-guide the produce. For instance collection and trade of Cordyceps ( Ophiocordyceps sinensis ) by high alpine dwellers and even Chirata ( Swertia chirata ) in the east (Shigkhar Lauri) contributes more than 50% of their annual earnings, which of-course is clear that these forest products doesnot justify to be called as minor. NWFPs and NTFPs are two very similar yet different terminologies adopted to address these produce of forest other than timber. In short it includes everything besides timber. Rattan Shoot In Bhutan we use NWFP and it is defined in the National Forest Policy of Bhutan, 2011as, "NWFP means resin, varnish, katha, kutch, plants, flowers, seeds, bamboo, bulbs, roots, leaves, grasses, creepers, reeds, orchids, cane, fungi, moss, medic...

Laying a transact to estimate biomass A typical camp of Cordyceps collecto It was May 25, 2010, I landed in Bagdogra international airport (india) on my way back from USA for my graduate thesis research. Upon arriving in Phuentsholing I saw my daughter waiting for me and my wife to reach. It was one of the best-“test” days which I dare not to forget.  My happy day was short lived as I had to leave to Thimphu the very next day as I was informed that Cordyceps (see "Floral and Faunal gallery" for photo) collection has already begun and only 15 days was left to legally harvest the much coveted medicinal mushroom. On 26 th I drove to Thimphu (as I left my car in Samtse with my Ajang and Ani) before leaving to the U.S. By 11 AM on 27 th I was done with whatever I needed to do in Thimphu and moved to Bumthang. I spent a day in Bumthang shopping whatever I might need in the harsh alpine environment. On 29 May, 2010, I was on “DRUK 11” towards Chajeyna to study “Fuelwood c...

  This article is part of my thesis “Fuelwood Consumption and Production in Alpine Bhutan: A case study in Wangchuck Centennial Park, Bumthang, Bhutan). I have also worked on uses of Cordyceps in Pharmaceutical industries long time back, but could not trace out as of now. If people are interested I will try to re-write it and publish it. I have also cited references, in-case if any readers is interested to explore further. I will also try to provide papers to those who are interested to know more about the organism. What is Cordyceps Cordyceps sinensis is an Ascomycetes medical fungus with a long and illustrious history. The genus Cordyceps is mostly entomophagous flask fungi belonging to the family Clavicipataceae (Winkler, 2008). Although it is not actually a mushroom in the taxonomic sense, it has been regarded as a medicinal mushroom for centuries. The name Cordyceps comes from the Latin words “cord” and “ceps”, meaning, “club” and “head”, respectively (Holliday et al., 2005)...