Orchids are amongst the most prized flowering plants which are traded as cut flowers and pot plants. These belong to the second largest
family of the flowering plants, with 29,481 orchid species worldwide. The Eastern and NorthEastern Himalayas, NorthWestern Himalayas,
Peninsular India, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands are the major orchid regions of India. There are three prominent methods of
conserving the genetic resources of orchid species: i) Legislative measures; ii) in situ conservation in sanctuaries, National Parks, and
Secred Groves Reserves; and iii) ex situ conservation in Orchidaria, field gene banks, in vitro conservation, cryo-preservation, and
Botanic gardens. Globally, trade in artificially propagated live plants is dominated by orchid hybrids (28.7%), Cymbidium species (26.9%),
Orchidaceae species (18.9%), Phalaenopsis hybrids (10.1%), Phalaenopsis species (4.4%), Dendrobium species (3.4%), Cymbidium
hybrids (3.3%), Dendrobium hybrids (2.3%), Cattleya species (0.4%), and Oncidium species (0.2%). Indian orchid species with high
ornamental values are used as breeding material. In India, some of the native genera like Arachnis, Cymbidium, Dendrobium, Paphiopedilum,
and Vanda are cultivated on a large scale for cut flower production. Cymbidium is mainly grown in NorthEastern Himalayan Region, Sikkim,
Darjeeling hills, Arunachal Pradesh, and Assam. Tropical orchids are cultivated in Kerala and some parts of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and
Maharashtra. There is a need to prefer those species which flower during winter and spring months so as to export their flowers to
temperate regions from December to May.