Orchid poaching and the media in Nepal

Orchid poaching is one of the major threats of loss of orchids in the Nepal Himalaya. Orchids are highly used for medicinal value Nepal, India and China. According to Acharya and Rokaya (2010), 82 species of orchids are used for medicinal purpose in Nepal. However, the consumption of orchids for medicinal use is very high in China and India and Nepal harbors big number of orchids in its diverse environmental condition. Because of high numbers in Nepal, these CITES plants are smuggled to India and China. Nepal police many times raided those smugglers but the scenario is not changed yet. 

Few days back, some smugglers were caught by Nepal police in collaboration with staffs of Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) in Jomsom. They captured 5 tons of dried orchids loaded in three trucks. The news was in published in a national news paper, Kantipur daily but some of the information provided in the news is wrong. First, the number of orchids found in Nepal is about 411 (this is list I compiled from different sources. Some sources mentioned numbers higher than this but there are some synonyms used in those lists). But, the reporter of the news mentioned the number of orchids found in Nepal is just 175. So, the national media should be aware of the information. There is still lack of reporters who are aware of those scientific facts. This type of mistakes are very frequent in national media. Secondly, the picture in the news is not the orchid. There is orchid on the branch of a tree but the plant in focus is not an orchid. (News source: Kantipur daily, 23.01.2012)

ORCHID DIVERSITY IN THE CHITWAN DISTRICT

There are few studies on orchids from low-land of Nepal. One article is recently published by Traxmandloá et. al. in a book: Himalayan Biodiversity in the Changing World. The book is edited by Pavel Kindlmann and published by Springer Publication in September 2011.
The authors conducted study in Chitwan National Park (CNP), Barandabhar Corridor Forest (BFC), the Mahabharat Range (MR). The orchids in the trees, on the rocks, and on the ground were recorded along a total of 200 line transects: 40 in BFC, 105 in CNP, and 55 in MR. They studies association between different tree species and orchids in those regions. Click here to read details of this article.

ORCHIDS IN ROLPA DISTRICT OF WESTERN NEPAL: DOCUMENTATION, STOCK, TRADE AND CONSERVATION

Study carried out by Koirala et al (2010) documented orchids from 17 Village Development Committees (VDCs) of Rolpa district, western Nepal and estimated the stock of two orchid species: Dendrobium denudans D.Don and Dendrobium eriiflorum Griff. The study documented 36 species of orchids. Among which, 31 were identified up to species level, two were identified up to generic level and 3 were unidentified.

The total stock of D. denudans was highest in Uwa VDC with 11018.08 kg followed by Seram VDC with the stock of 9982.57 kg. Similarly, D. eriiflorum stock in Seram, Siuri andJaimakasala VDCs were 22750.01 kg, 7039.67 kg and 4933.46 kg, respectively. 

This study recommended systematic research on the propagation technique; completeindexing of orchids; and inclusion of orchids in the Red Data Book on the threatened and endangered species. Further they recommended for establishment of orchid reserves for preservation and promotion of regeneration activities. The study also recommended for implementation of laws for protection of orchids. The article is published in Vol 20 (2) of a journal, Banko Jankari. To access full article click here.

Orchid species richness along Himalayan elevation gradients

One of my paper on orchids from Nepal and Bhutan is published in an internal journal, Journal of Biogeography. The paper is available on line on 12 May 2011. Its great experience for me to publish article in such journal. Ohh... it took nearly 18 months to get published. Many many thanks to my two co-authors who from the very beginning encouraged me for this paper.

The study explores the relationship between orchid species richness along elevational gradients in the Central Himalaya (Nepal Himalaya) and Eastern Himalaya (this includes Bhutan and its adjoining areas).

This study is based on secondary sources. We used published data on the distribution of orchids to interpolate presence between maximum and minimum recorded elevations in 100-m elevational zones. These patterns were compared with previously published patterns for other plant groups, which were derived in the same way.

A hump-shaped relationship between orchid species richness and elevation was observed in Nepal and Bhutan, with maximum richness at 1600 m a.s.l. corresponding to c. 16 C mean annual temperature. The richness of orchid species that are endemic to central and eastern Himalaya showed a bimodal pattern. Richness of endemic epiphytes peaked at elevation zones similar to those for total richness, but the peak in numbers of endemic terrestrial species occurred at a higher elevation.

This study shows that climatic variables (temperature and precipitation) provide a good potential explanation for orchid species richness along the Himalayan elevational gradient, even when the effect of area is considered. The principal elevational peak in richness of central and eastern Himalayan endemics was consistent with the peak in total orchid richness, but maximum terrestrial endemic richness occurred at higher elevations.

To read full article click here.

NOTICEABLE BOOKS ON ORCHIDS OF NEPAL

Nepal being situated at the crossroad of the Himalaya provides a congenial climate for the growth of orchids. The country harbours more than 400 species of wild orchids and has been centre of research. Every year large number of orchid hunters and tourists visit Nepal and get fascinated by this interesting group of plant. However, very few researchers from Nepal are working on orchids and its diversity. Majority of the work are focused on exploration as Nepal is still less explored in terms of flora. In this section, I am trying to compile information on some noticeable books published on orchids from Nepal.

1. Orchids of Nepal by M.L. Banerji. The book was published in 1978 by Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh Publications, Dehradun, India. This book should be the first book published on orchids from Nepal. It contains information on wild orchids (200 orchid species and 54 drawings) collected from Nepal during different expeditions.

2. The Orchids of Nepal Himalaya by ML Banerji and P Pradhan. The book was published in 1984. It contains information on around 250 species with drawings. The publication is based on all the specimens housed in herbaria and botanical surveys.

3. Wild Orchids in Nepal by K White and B Sharma. The book was published in 2000. The book contains information on about 150 species with photographs. This book is based on orchids collected from Tribhuvan Rajpath (highway connecting the capital city of Nepal, Kathmandu and Hetuada) where authors collected orchids during different years.

4. Beautiful Orchids of Nepal by KR Rajbhandari and S Bhattarai. The book is published in 2001 and contains information on 101 species of orchids found wild in Nepal. Information on flowering time, distribution in the world and habitat in Nepal is provided with currently accepted scientific name. The colour photograph of each species is provided such that non-taxonomists can also enjoy beautiful orchids.

5. Nepali Orchids in Pictures by René de Milleville and TB Shrestha. The book is published in 2004 by Malla Prakashan, Kathmandu, Nepal. This book provides information on 140 indigenous species and varieties of orchids in Nepal, including information on the blooming seasons of each and the altitudes and temperatures that they can be found at. While the tables and details may appeal more to botanists and conservationists, the some 250 colour photographs of these beautiful flowers that follow are enough to enchant even the most casual of floral fanciers.

6. The Orchids of Nepal by Bhakta B Raskoti. The book is published in 2009 and provides information on 300+ species with colour photographs. This is the book with information on more than 300 species of orchids from Nepal.

MEDICINAL ORCHIDS OF NEPAL

Out of more than 400 orchid species in Nepal, 82 species are used for medicinal purpose. An article by me and MB Rokaya contains this information. The article is published on 2010 issue of a journal Our Nature. This article provides information on total number of medicinal orchids (compiled from various published literature) and their distribution pattern in Nepal. Out of 82 species, 33 are terrestrial (40 %), 43 are epiphytic (53 %) and six are of mixed habitat (7 %). The center Nepal harbors highest number of species (69 species i.e.

43%) followed by east Nepal (58 species i.e. 36%) and west Nepal (33 species i.e. 21%). Among them, six species are recorded only from east Nepal, eight species only from center Nepal and three species only form west Nepal and rest of the species are recorded from wider distributional ranges. Maximum richness of total medicinal orchid species richness is observed at an elevation of 1700 m a.s.l.

List of orchids used for medicinal purpose in different parts of Nepal is provided below:

S.N.	Accepted name of a species	Altitudinal distribution	Medicinal use Source/s
1	Acampe praemorsa (Roxb.) Blatt. & McCann	200-1200	Vaidya et al. 2000
2	Aerides multiflora Roxb.	200-1100	Vaidya et al. 2000
3	Aerides odotata Lour.	200-1200	Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000
4	Anoectochilus setaceus Blume	1000-1500	Vaidya et al. 2000
5	Arundina graminifolia (D.Don) Hochr	400-2300	Vaidya et al. 2000
6	Brachycorythis obcordata (Lindl.) Sunnerh.	1000-2638	Jha et al. 1996, Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000, Rajbhandari 2001, Manandhar 2002, IUCN 2004, DPR 2007
7	Bulbophyllum careyanum (Hook.) Sprengel	6002100	Subedi 2003
8	Bulbophyllum leopardinum (Wall.) Wall. Ex lindl.	1500-3200	Subedi 2003
9	Bulbophyllum umbellatum Lindl.	300-1800	Shrestha 2000
10	Calanthe griffithii Lindl.	2200-2300	Subedi 2003
11	Calanthe plantaginea Lindl.	1500-2200	Subedi 2003
12	Calanthe sylvatica (Thouars) Lindl.	1500-2800	Vaidya et al. 2000, Manandhar 2002
13	Coelogyne corymbosa Lindl.	1500-2900	Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000, Manandhar 2002
14	Coelogyne cristata Lindl.	675-2450	Vaidya et al. 2000, Manandhar 2002, DPR 2007
15	Coelogyne flaccida Lindl.	900-1100	Manandhar 2002
16	Coelogyne fuscescens Lindl.	1200-1830	Vaidya et al. 2000
17	Coelogyne nitida (Wall. ex. D. Don) Lindl.	1300-2400	Manandhar 2002
18	Coelogyne ovalis Lindl.	500-2700	Shrestha 2000
19	Coelogyne prolifera Lindl.	1000-2300	Rajbhandari et al. 2000, Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000, Manandhar 2002, Subedi 2003
20	Coelogyne stricta (D. Don) Schltr.	14002135	Rajbhandari et al. 2000, Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000
21	Conchidium muscicola(Lindl.) Rauschert	1500-1800	Shrestha 2000
22	Cymbidium alofolium (L.) Sw.	300-1600	Rajbhandari et al. 2000, Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000, Manandhar 2002
23	Cymbidium devonianum Paxton	1500-1800	Manandhar 2002
24	Cymbidium iridioides D.Don	1500-2800	Vaidya et al. 2000
25	Cymbidium longifolium D.Don	1500-3000	Vaidya et al. 2000, Baral & Khurmi 2006
26	Cypripedium cordigerum D.Don	2800-3800	Manandhar 2002
27	Cypripedium elegans Rchb.f.	2500-4200	Vaidya et al. 2000
28	Cypripedium himalaicum Rolfe	3000-4800	Lama et al. 2001, Manandhar 2002
29	Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D.Don) Soó	2800-3960	Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000, Lama et al. 2001, Rajbhandari 2001, Manandhar 2002, IUCN 2004
30	Dendrobium amoenum Wall. ex Lindl.	1100-2900	Vaidya et al. 2000
31	Dendrobium crepidatum Lindl. & Paxton	1200-2400	Subedi 2003
32	Dendrobium densiflorum Lindl.	900-2900	Manandhar 2002
33	Dendrobium fimbriatum Hook.	200-2135	Vaidya et al. 2000
34	Dendrobium longicornu Lindl.	1300-2900	Manandhar 1995, Manandhar 2002
35	Dendrobium monticola P.F.Hunt & Summerh.	1525-2700	Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000
36	Dendrobium moschatum (Buch.-Ham.) Sw.	200-1200	Subedi 2003
37	Dendrobium nobile Lindl.	400-1500	Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000
38	Dendrobium transparens Wall. ex Lindl.	700-2000	Subedi 2003
39	Ephemerantha macraei (Lindl.) P.F. Hunt & Summerh.	500-2400	Jha et al. 1996, Vaidya et al. 2000, IUCN 2004, DPR 2007
40	Epipactis gigantea Douglas ex Hook	2900-3200	Vaidya et al. 2000
41	Epipactis helleborine (L.) Crantz	1500-3300	Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000, Rokaya 2002
42	Epipactis royleana Lindl.	1400-3400	Manandhar 2002
43	Eria spicata (D.Don) Hand.-Mazz.	900-2200	Vaidya et al. 2000
44	Eulophia comestrs Wall.	300	Shrestha 2000
45	Eulophia dabia (D.Don) Hochr.	400-2000	Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000, DPR 2007
46	Eulophia spectabilis (Dennst.) Suresh	400-1800	Rajbhandari et al. 2000, Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000
47	Flickingeria fimbriata (Blume) A.D.Hawkes		Sharma 2000
48	Flickingeria macraei (Lindl.) Seidenf.		Rajbhandari et al. 2000, Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000
49	Gymnadenia conopsea (L.) R. Br.	4300	Rokaya 2002
50	Gymnadenia orchidis Lindl.	1352-4700	Manandhar 1995, Vaidya et al. 2000, Manandhar 2002, Rokaya 2002
51	Habenaria commelinifolia (Roxb.) Wall. ex Lindl.	300-1200	Vaidya et al. 2000
52	Habenaria furcifera Lindl.	150-800	Manandhar 2002
53	Habenaria intermedia D.Don	1800-3300	Shrestha 2000, Manandhar 2002
54	Liparis nervosa (Thunb.) Lindl.	1200-2800	Shrestha 2000
55	Liparis rostrata Rchb.f.	2000-3000	Vaidya et al. 2000
56	Luisia trichorrhiza (Hook.) Blume	1000-1400	Vaidya et al. 2000
57	Luisia tristis (G.Forst.) Hook.f.	300-2300	Rajbhandari et al. 2000, Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000, Manandhar 2002
58	Malaxis acuminata D.Don	450-3050	Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000, DPR 2007
59	Malaxis cylindrostachya (Lindl.) Kuntze	2100-3500	Manandhar 2002
60	Malaxis muscifera (Lindl.) Kuntze	2000-4100	DPR 2007
61	Nervilia aragoana Gaudich.	500-1300	Vaidya et al. 2000, DPR 2007
62	Oberonia caulescens Lindl.	1300-2400	Vaidya et al. 2000
63	Orchis latifolia Linn.*		Sharma 2000
64	Otochilus porrectus Lindl.	900-2300	IUCN 2004
65	Papilionanthe teres (Roxb.) Schltr.	200-2100	Manandhar 2002
66	Pholidota articulata Lindl.	570-2285	Vaidya et al. 2000, Manandhar 2002
67	Pholidota imbricata Lindl.	600-2900	Rajbhandari et al. 2000, Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000, Manandhar 2002
68	Platanthera sikkimensis (Hook.f.) Kraenzl.	2600-2900	Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000
69	Pleione humilis (Sm.) D.Don	1800-3000	Manandhar 2002
70	Pleione maculata (Lindl.) Lindl. & Paxton	1400-2700	Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000
71	Pleione praecox (Sm.) D.Don	1500-2500	Rajbhandari 2001, Manandhar 2002
72	Ponerorchis chusua (D.Don) Soó	2400-4900	Rokaya 2002
73	Rhynchostylis retusa (L.) Blume	300-1850	Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000, Manandhar 2002, DPR 2007
74	Satyrium nepalense D.Don	600-4600	Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000
75	Smitinandia micrantha (Lindl.) Holttum	500-1400	Vaidya et al. 2000, Rajbhandari 2001, Manandhar 2002
76	Spiranthes sinensis (Pers.) Ames	150-4600	Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000 Rokaya 2002
77	Thunia alba (Lindl.) Rchb.f.	500-1800	Manandhar 2002
78	Trudelia praviflora*	350-915	Vaidya et al. 2000
79	Vanda cristata Wall. ex Lindl.	620-2300	Vaidya et al. 2000, Rajbhandari 2001, Manandhar 2002
80	Vanda tessellata (Roxb.) Hook. ex G.Don	200-600	Rajbhandari et al. 2000, Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000
81	Vanda testacea (Lindl.) Rchb.f.	460	Vaidya et al. 2000
82	Zeuxine strateumatica (L.) Schltr.	230-1220	Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000

Full article can be found here.

FOOD-DECEPTIVE ORCHID SPECIES FLOWER EARLIER AND OCCUR AT LOWER ALTITUDES THAN REWARDING ONES

Food-deceptive pollination is common within the family Orchidaceae in which plants do not offer any food reward reward to their pollinators. As food-deceptive orchids are poorer competitors for pollinator visitation than rewarding orchids, their occurrence in a given habitat may be more constrained than that of rewarding orchids. Study on European orchids by Pellissier et al (2010) found some interesting facts on this. According to them, deceptive orchid species start flowering earlier than rewarding orchids do. Also, the relative frequency of deceptive orchids decreases with altitude, suggesting that deception may be less profitable at high compared to low altitude. Paper based on this findings in published in Journal of Plant Ecology,3(4),243-250. Link for article.

Spiranthes spiralis (L.) Chevall

Photos of Spiranthes spiralis (L.) Chevall collected from Pokhara valley. The species is newly reported from Nepal.

ORCHID SPECIES FIRST TIME REPORTED FROM CENTRAL NEPAL

One species of orchid (Spiranthes spiralis) is first time reported from Pokhara, Central Nepal. Information on this species is published in a reputed journal, Hardvard Papers in Botany, Vol 15(1):71-72, 2010. The article is published by fours authors where i am the first and corresponding author. If you are interested in further information, you can contact me.

TWO NEW ORCHIDACEAE FROM CENTRAL NEPAL

Two new species of orchids: Eria annapurnensis L.R.Shakya & M.R.Shrestha, a new species, and Gastrochilus calceolaris var. biflora L.R.Shakya & M.R.Shrestha, a new variety (both Orchidaceae), are reported from Annapurna Conservation Area, Central Nepal. The article based on these two orchids is published in a journal, EDINBURGH JOURNAL OF BOTANY. Diagrammatic sketch of these two species is presented below:

NEW ORCHID SPECIES RECORDED FROM NEPAL

New species of orchid, Goodyera foliosa (Lindl.) Benth. ex C.B. Clarke var. commelinoides (Fukuy.) F.Maek is for the first time reported from Nepal. The species is first time reported by Bhakta B. Rajkoti and Rita Ale. Article based on this species is published in a journal, Scientific World, Vol. 7(7), 2009. The species is collected from Sundarijal, Shivapuri National Park, Central Nepal at an altitude of 1600 m a.s.l. For details of a species see the journal, Scientific World.