Why in news?
Botanical Survey of India (BSI) came up with the first comprehensive census of orchids of India putting the total number of orchid species or taxa to 1,256
About it:
- Orchids can be broadly categorized into three life forms:
- Epiphytic (plants growing on another plants, on rock boulders),
- Terrestrial (plants growing on land and climbers),
- Mycoheterotrophy (plants which derive nutrients from mycorrhizal fungi that are attached to the roots of a vascular plant).
- About 60% of all orchids found in the country, which is 757 species, are epiphytic, 447 are terrestrial and 43 are mycoheterotrophy.
- Among the 10 biogeographic zones of India, the Himalayan zone is the richest in terms of orchid species followed by Northeast, Western Ghats, Deccan plateau and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
- While North-east India ranks at the top in species concentration, the Western Ghats have high endemism of orchids (one- third of the species).
- The highest number of orchid species is recorded from Arunachal Pradesh followed by Sikkim and West Bengal.
- The entire orchid family is listed under Appendix II of CITES and hence any trade of wild orchid is banned globally.
