Epiphytic orchids found in the Dooars and Darjeeling hills are dying out because of deforestation in their natural habitat.

Orchids – A diverse group of flowering plants with vibrant and intricate flowers which belong to the family Orchidaceae.

• Range – Tropical rainforests, mountains, and even deserts.
• Distribution – India has over 1200 species of Orchids, 388 are endemic to India while 128 are endemic to the Western Ghats.

The hot-spots of orchids in India are Himalayas, North-East India and Western Ghats and they are highest in Arunachal Pradesh followed by Sikkim and West Bengal.

3 Types – 60% of all orchids found in India are epiphytic, 447 are terrestrial and 43 are mycoheterotrophic.

• • Epiphytic – They grow on another plant including rock surfaces (lithophytes) merely for physical support, drawing moisture and nutrients from the air, not from the host.
  • Terrestrial – They grow on land and climbers, found largely in temperate and alpine regions.
  • Mycoheterotrophic - They derive nutrients from mycorrhizal fungi, attached to roots of a vascular plant.
• Protection status – Appendix II of CITES (trade of wild orchid is banned globally).
• Threat – Habitat loss owing to illegal logging and development and the most endangered are the epiphytic orchids.
• Importance – They are natural gauges of air quality because they don’t grow in polluted air.
• It helps in cross-pollination and helps the next generation of insects to survive and grow as caterpillars thrive on them for food.
• It has symbiotic relationship with the indigenous people.
  • The Oraon and Kharia tribal communities use orchids to treat cuts and fractures, skin diseases, aches and pains, gastrointestinal acidity and so on.

A World Health Organisation report that says 80% of people on this planet depend on traditional remedies and epiphytic orchids add to the value chain of herbal healing.

Epiphytic orchids found in the Dooars and Darjeeling hills are dying out because of deforestation in their natural habitat.

• Orchids – A diverse group of flowering plants with vibrant and intricate flowers which belong to the family Orchidaceae.
• Range – Tropical rainforests, mountains, and even deserts.
• Distribution – India has over 1200 species of Orchids, 388 are endemic to India while 128 are endemic to the Western Ghats.

The hot-spots of orchids in India are Himalayas, North-East India and Western Ghats and they are highest in Arunachal Pradesh followed by Sikkim and West Bengal.

• 3 Types – 60% of all orchids found in India are epiphytic, 447 are terrestrial and 43 are mycoheterotrophic.
  • Epiphytic – They grow on another plant including rock surfaces (lithophytes) merely for physical support, drawing moisture and nutrients from the air, not from the host.
  • Terrestrial – They grow on land and climbers, found largely in temperate and alpine regions.
  • Mycoheterotrophic - They derive nutrients from mycorrhizal fungi, attached to roots of a vascular plant.
• Protection status – Appendix II of CITES (trade of wild orchid is banned globally).
• Threat – Habitat loss owing to illegal logging and development and the most endangered are the epiphytic orchids.
• Importance – They are natural gauges of air quality because they don’t grow in polluted air.
• It helps in cross-pollination and helps the next generation of insects to survive and grow as caterpillars thrive on them for food.
• It has symbiotic relationship with the indigenous people.
  • The Oraon and Kharia tribal communities use orchids to treat cuts and fractures, skin diseases, aches and pains, gastrointestinal acidity and so on.

A World Health Organisation report that says 80% of people on this planet depend on traditional remedies and epiphytic orchids add to the value chain of herbal healing.