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The importance accorded to ethnoecological knowledge for suggesting new paths in scientific research, understanding ecological processes, and designing sustainable management of natural resources has grown in recent years. However, variation in knowledge and practices, both within and across cultures, has not been given much attention in resource management nor in developing scientific understanding of the ecological status of key resources. In this paper, we discuss the heterogeneity and complexity of local ecological knowledge in relation to its practical and institutional context with respect to management of Himalayan medicinal plants. We show factors affecting this variation, and discuss how knowledge is put into action. We assessed variation in knowledge relating to the diversity of medicinal plant species, their distribution, medicinal uses, biological traits, ecology, and management within and …