The Indian Himalayan region (IHR), one of the richest bio-geographic zones of India, stretches to about 3,000 km in length and varies from 220-300 km in width. It covers nearly 17% of the total geographical area and 3.8% of India’s population. The location, climate and topography of the IHR have endowed it with rich and diverse life forms. The Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) is one of the World Heritage sites, located in Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh, NorthWestern Himalaya. It is well known for its rich faunal and floral diversity and important habitat for a large number of rare and threatened species. While exploring the floristic diversity of the GHNP, the intensive surveys were conducted to identify the diversity, distribution and status of the orchids. Rapid sampling method for the qualitative assessment and quadrat method for the quantitative assessment have been followed. A total of twenty one species of orchids representing 16 genera were recorded. These orchids were distributed between 2428-3820 m amsl and represented the shady moist, alpine meadows thatches, grassland, riverine, rocky, shrubbery and dry habitats. The species were analysed for nativity, threat categories and indigenous uses. Amongst the species, 12 species were natives and 9 species were non-natives. Of the total species, 6 species were found in the sites sampled for quantitative assessment of vegetation. Calanthe tricarinata was recorded in maximum sites (10 sites), followed by Dactylorhiza hatagirea (8 sites), Malaxis muscifera, Platanthera edgeworthii, (2 sites each) and Epipactis helleborine and Gymnadenia orchidis (1 site each). Maximum orchids were found in shady moist habitat (15 species), followed by rocky (4 species), dry (2 species) and alpine, riverine and grassland (1 species each). The density of Calanthe tricarinata ranged from 0.05-1.3 Indm-2, Dactylorhiza hatagirea, 0.06-0.8 Indm-2, Epipactis helleborine, 0.45 Indm-2, Gymnadenia orchidis, 0.15 Indm-2, Malaxis muscifera, 0.15-0.4 Indm-2 and Platanthera edgeworthii, 0.25-0.35 Indm-2. Some of the species have medicinal properties and used for curing sores, eczema, fever, burns, blood purifier, tonic, cough, cold, cut, sexual disability, rheumatism, nervous disorder, female disorder, kidney disorder, spermopiotic, urinary problems, dysentery, sterility, etc. Maximum species were used as tonic (8 species), followed by for curing blood problems (6 species), fever, cough, spermopiotic and female disorder (3 species each) and burns, expectorant, cold, rheumatism, urinary disorder, dysentery, epilepsy (2 species each). Among the species, Cypripedium himalaicum, Dactylorhiza hatagirea, and Habenaria intermedia were found to be Endangered and Cypripedium cordigerum, Malaxis muscifera, and Platanthera edgeworthii as Vulnerable and Herminium monorchis Near Threatened and remaining species as Least Concern. Present study suggests that studies on various aspects like habitat ecology of these orchids for understanding the dynamics of their population, mass multiplication following conventional and in vitro propagation methods; educational and awareness programmes for the conservation of orchids need to be carried out.
Dendrobium hybrids are very profitable enterprise for commercial cultivation but it has not taken the pace in India, due to lack of infrastructural facilities and varied agro-climatic conditions. Hence, presently a systematic study was undertaken in Dendrobium orchid cv. Sonia 17 (D. Caesar × D. Tomie Drake), through the use of different combinations of nutrients and growth regulators so as to maintain productivity and quality. Different ratios of N:P:K and concentration of GA3 (Gibberelllic Acid: 200 ppm) and BA (Benzyladenine: 400 ppm) were applied as foliar sprays during vegetative and flowering stages at frequency of 7 days and 30 days interval respectively. The experiment was laid out in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 17 treatments. The treatment T6 was observed as optimal for vegetative growth, floral characters, and maximum vase life.
The current study was intended to facilitate ex situ conservation of floriculturally and medicinally important endangered Coelogyne cristata. The cultures were initiated using asymbiotic seed germination technique on a defined Mitra et al., 1976 (M) medium supplemented with plant growth regulators (PGRs) such as [6-benzyladenine (BA - 4.44 μM), furfuryl aminopurine (KN - 4.65 μM), -naphthalene acetic acid (NAA - 5.37μM) and indole, 3-butyric acid (IBA - 4.92 μM)]. The frequency and onset of germination was markedly influenced by the type of growth regulator used in the nutrient medium. Cytokinins proved optimal for germination and led to fastest development of seedlings within 18.08±0.50 wks of culture. Simultaneously, the efficacy of sucrose at different concentrations (5.0, 10.0, 15.0, 20.0, 25.0 and 30.0 gl-1) was also assessed on the germination percentage of seeds. The growth of the seedlings was best on the medium containing 20 gl-1 of sucrose.
Orchids comprise one of the largest families of flowering plants and cover 6.8% of the flowering plants in India. They are pri zed for their incredible diversity in size, shape, forms, colour, attractiveness of their flowers and high keeping qualities upto ten wks. While explori ng the floristic diversity of the biodiversity ri ch areas of the Himachal Pradesh, an attempt was made to assess the diversity, distribution and conservation status of orchids along an altitudinal gradient in Hirb and Shoja Catchments in Kullu district, Chailchowk-Rohanda-Kamrunag area and Mandi-Pandoh area in Mandi district and Ghanahatti-Shimla area in Shimla district. Extensive and intensive field surveys revealed the occurrence of 29 species of orchids, mostly terrestri al belonging to 16 genera. Amongst genera, Habenaria (8 spp.), Goodyera (3 spp.), Calanthe, Epipactis, Herminium, Listera and Malaxis (2 spp., each) were dominant. Majority of species (25) were distributed between 1800-2800 m altitudes, whereas at elevations higher and lower than these, relatively less diversity of orchids was recorded. Amongst the different sites, Chailchowk-Rohanda- Kamrunag area (19 spp.) represented maximum species of orchids, followed by Hirb and Shoja Catchments (12 spp.), Ghanahatti- Shimla area (7 spp.) and Mandi-Pandoh area (5 spp.). Fifteen species were native to the Himalayan region and 7 species were near endemic to the Indian Himalayan Region. One species (Dactylorhiza hatagirea) was identified as critically endangered and 6 species as endangered and 11 as vulnerable. The over exploitation of orchids for trade, habitat loss and climate change are major factors leading to rapid decrease in their population. These factors have led to habitat destruction, changes and fragmentation. Therefore, assessment of the habitats and populations of the orchids is essentially required to understand the dynamics of the habitats and status of the species which would help in developing appropriate strategy for in situ conservation of the orchids, in Himachal Pradesh.
The barcoding of medicinally important orchids of Bangladesh has been done so as to confirm the traditional taxonomic identification of the species using phylogenetic analysis and match with existing gene bank sequences. Presently, twenty two medicinally important orchid species used by tribal people were collected from different parts of Bangladesh. All the species were identified and classified following traditional taxonomic methods. DNA barcodes were extracted from dried leaf sample following standard DNA extraction methods, PCR and sequencing. The maturase-coding gene (matK) and the ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase-coding gene (rbcL) regions were used as DNA barcodes for identification and phylogenetic analysis. A total of twenty one medicinal orchid species have been sequenced with the rbcL gene and sixteen species with the matK gene. Most of the sequenced genes (17 in rbcL and 8 in matK) are new addition to the gene bank. Where the new submissions matched entries in the gene bank, they showed very similar sequences indicating the proper identification with traditional taxonomic methods. Phylogenetic trees based on matK data distinguish every species from each other but rbcL showed less species discriminating power than matK. Phylogenetic trees constructed on combined data showed three different groups with evolutionary trends in both terrestrial and epiphytic orchids. Importantly, DNA barcoding genes ensure proper identification of the medicinally important orchid species, in the present study. This approach is ideal as a tool for the identification of critical medicinally important species which are the origin of crude drugs. The present study may prove useful for the establishment of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) for future drug discovery.
Orchids, belonging to the family Orchidaceae exhibit an incredible range of diversity in size, shape and colour of their flowers. They occupy top position amongst all the flowering plants and are valued for cut flower production and as potted plants. They are known for their long lasting and bewitchingly beautiful flowers, which fetch a high price in the international market. Taxonomically, they represent the most highly evolved family amongst monocotyledons with more than 800 genera and 25,000-35,000 species in the world and the present figure of the hybrids among these touches around 100,000. Since the early 1970’s, different groups in various Universities and Research Institutions have been working on ethnobotany and traditional knowledge in orchids and published many reports. Most of the literature pertains to ethnobotany or agricultural operations including shifting of cultivation and festivals of NorthEastern region of India where orchids flower throughout the year. The present paper reports the detailed information on ethnobotanical and traditional knowledge system undertaken by various workers from the NorthEastern region with rich plant resources and the vast wealth available with the various tribes in the region. Status of important orchids and their economic value are also mentioned here along with suggestions required for harnessing the rich bio-resources and translating the same into economic products.
Cymbidium Sw. was known by two epiphytic species in the orchid flora of Odisha. One C. macrorhizon Lindl., a terrestrial mycotrophic species, collected recently, forms an addition to the orchid flora of Odisha, while extending range of this species southwards into peninsular India.