**3. Habitat**

*P. polyphylla* grows luxuriantly under the shade with a good canopy closure at an altitude of 1300–2500 m above sea level as forest under storey. It grows mainly in a forest with bamboo groves, grassy or rocky slopes, stream-sides, mixed conifer forests and scrub thickets [6]. It is a slow germinating herb and takes about seven to eight months to sprout from the seed. It thrives well inside the deep forest cover in nature. It grows best in humus-rich and well-drained soil and waterlogging is found to be lethal for this herb. Plants that lack inflorescences are usually shorter in height. It has been reported that the plants when taken out of the natural habitat failed to either flower or set seed. This plant is a very slow growing herb and almost takes a year to increase it rhizome size from one node to another and this is one important reason for the fast disappearance of this species from the natural habitat. The rhizomes are the economic part of this plant and they are harvested from the wild injudiciously.
