Begonia picta Sm., an unexplored medicinal food of forest

Begonia picta is a widespread species of flowering plant in the family Begoniaceae. It is distributed throughout Nepal, Pakistan, India, and Bhutan between 600 and 2800 m elevation. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and medicine. In Ayurveda, the plant is used for curing various diseases like headaches, skin infections, stomach problems, etc. As people throughout the world are suffering from various untreatable and unknown diseases, these types of wild foods and nutraceuticals are required to boost our immunity, which will help us fight against several diseases and disorders. Keeping this in mind, an attempt has been made to gather information on B. picta and its food, medicinal and economic values. Morphological descriptions and photographs are also provided for easy identification in the field.