tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73621565861053816182024-03-14T11:31:16.652+01:00A blog dedicated to Nepali orchidsKamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-13128439731548649052013-07-04T07:56:00.001+02:002013-07-04T07:56:20.039+02:00My blog featured in Orchids made easy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Ryan and Laura Levesque, authors of <i>Orchids Made Easy</i> - a book and
website all about <a href="http://www.orchidsmadeeasy.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">how to care for orchids</span></a>, invited me for an interview for their web page. That was about how i got into orchids and my research on orchids, which you can check out in the link below:<br />
<a href="http://www.orchidsmadeeasy.com/nepali-orchids/"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.orchidsmadeeasy.com/nepali-orchids/</span></a><br />
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Many thanks to Ryan and Laura for featuring me in their web page. I am very happy to share that people are visiting my blog and curious about orchids from Nepal.<br />
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Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-61376221325633331052013-06-25T16:21:00.005+02:002013-09-22T18:22:44.320+02:00Bulbophyllum nepalense Raskoti & Ale (Orchidaceae) – a new species from Nepal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>Bulbophyllum nepalense</i> Raskoti & Ale was for the first time reported from Nepal by BB Raskoti and R Ale. The new species was collected from Shivapuri National Park, Kathmandu at an altitude of 2300 m asl. Description on this species is published in a journal, <b><i>Edinburgh Journal of Botany</i></b> in 2013.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZGhnIXfRI4J8I0GdGFCG64ZdMoDvwNpOI1Fmysabl8rcF3eHmyyBhb55_1ASuP1s8YdBs-eFJc1GkEzYTh-Uwk2TEpzvDIScyJaY5gBOTEyCXYHy_rBGIQZWBDAaucur2Vsay6v5NuMI-/s1600/bulbophyllum+nepalense.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZGhnIXfRI4J8I0GdGFCG64ZdMoDvwNpOI1Fmysabl8rcF3eHmyyBhb55_1ASuP1s8YdBs-eFJc1GkEzYTh-Uwk2TEpzvDIScyJaY5gBOTEyCXYHy_rBGIQZWBDAaucur2Vsay6v5NuMI-/s400/bulbophyllum+nepalense.jpg" width="400" /></a>The newly reported species is similar to <i>B. retusiusculum</i> Rchb. f., with which it shares the oblong dorsal sepal, the elliptic petals and the oblong decurved ligulate lip but differs in having narrow pseudobulbs, the falcate, acute-acuminate lateral sepals, and two strips of papillae or short hairs on the adaxial side of the lip, close to the margins.<br />
The new species is also somewhat similar to <i>B. tigridum </i>in petals and lip shape but the later differs from the new species in having short pseudobulbs, ovate dorsal sepals and lip apex with hyaline upturned protuberance.<br />
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Reference:<br />
Raskoti, BR and R Ale (2013) A new species of <i>Bulbophyllum</i> (Orchidaceae) from Nepal, <i>Edinburgh Journal of Botany</i>, 70 (2): 381.384. <a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8933089" target="_blank">LINK</a><br />
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Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-43167627748585117512012-09-28T14:59:00.000+02:002012-09-28T14:59:50.026+02:00Liparis ferruginea Lindley (Orchidaceae) – a New Record for Flora of Nepal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5cFUcQQMIpkY7p43udBJVZdHAycK2PqY6rGxh4qtODZ1-G98eqmdevSDEoFh2xazKx0E7GluF3OdzFRRp6GbSLXJ6nMeN1IaUjfJVgjgYhm6NtOIi6W-tyTxfePQiuS-9dIhrpL722GkZ/s1600/http___tai2.ntu.edu.tw_taiwania_pdf_tai.2012.57.3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5cFUcQQMIpkY7p43udBJVZdHAycK2PqY6rGxh4qtODZ1-G98eqmdevSDEoFh2xazKx0E7GluF3OdzFRRp6GbSLXJ6nMeN1IaUjfJVgjgYhm6NtOIi6W-tyTxfePQiuS-9dIhrpL722GkZ/s320/http___tai2.ntu.edu.tw_taiwania_pdf_tai.2012.57.3.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Infloresence of <i>L. ferruginea</i> [Photo: Raskoti & Ale]</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Rajkoti and Ale (2012) reported <i>Liparis ferruginea</i>
Lindley first time from Nepal. They collected this species from
Hetauda, Makwanpur district, Narayani Zone, Central Nepal at an altitude
of 400 m asl. Article based on this species is published in a journal, <i>Taiwania</i>. </div>
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
L.
ferruginea is similar to L. odorata (Willdenow) Lindley, with which it
shares almost floral characters. It is distinguished from L. odorata by
the lateral sepals pushed close to the underside of the lip, strongly
curved above the middle, their inner margins closely aligned and
apparently connate. In L. odorata lateral sepals pendent below the lip,
curving downwards, the inner margins parallel but not closely aligned.</div>
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Reference:<br />
Raskoti, BR and R Ale (2012) Liparis ferruginea Lindley (Orchidaceae) – a New Record for Flora of<br />
Nepal, <i>Taiwania</i>, 57 (3): 308 - 311.<br />
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Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-61575138666402431122012-08-03T13:21:00.000+02:002012-08-03T13:21:26.467+02:00HOST TREE UTILIZATION BY EPIPHYTIC ORCHIDS IN DIFFERENT LAND USE INTENSITIES IN KATHMANDU VALLEY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Paper published in <b>Plant Ecology </b>by <b>Adhikari et al</b> (2012) found strong relationship between epiphytic orchid species in different land use intensities in Kathmandu valley. In total, they identified 23 orchid species from 42 host trees. Among the epiphytic orchids <i>Rhynchostylis retusa</i> was most dominant one. The study found that for successful establishment and success of epiphytic orchids, host species and bark characteristics such as rugosity, pH and exposure to wind played a vital role.</div>
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The study found that higher numbers of epiphytic orchids were found on larger host trees in urban areas than in areas of lower human impact. Also, older larger trees with rougher bark, low pH, exposed to wind and<br />
reduced human impact provided better habitats for orchids. This findings will be beneficial for urban palnning to reduce human impact on the associated orchid epiphytic community.</div>
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To read full paper click <i><a href="http://www.springerlink.com/content/r177888n67201271/" target="_blank">HERE</a>. </i> </div>
</div>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-33388792585542029082012-04-02T11:24:00.005+02:002013-06-25T16:22:47.974+02:00HOW MANY ORCHIDS ARE FOUND IN NEPAL?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Nepal is endowed with rich Orchid flora due to wide topographic variation and climatic conditions. Every year new species of orchids are reported from Nepal. This shows the need of detail exploration. <i>Flora Nepal </i><i>Project</i> is undergoing and hopefully that will cover major regions of Nepal and will available soon. Regarding the number of orchids found in Nepal, different authors mentioned different figures. For example, Press <i>et al </i>(2000) in <i>Annotated Checklist of the Flowering Plants of Nepal </i>mentioned 89 genera and 323 species. Rajbhandari and Bhattarai (2001) in <i>Beautiful Orchids of Nepal </i>mentioned 97 genera and 363 species. Rajbhandari and Dahal (2004) in <i>Orchids of Nepal: A Checklist</i> mentioned 100 genera and 377 species and Rastogi (2009) in <i>The Orchids of Nepal</i> mentioned the number to be 102 genus and 388 species. This shows more recent the publication, higher the number of orchids. However, some authors mentioned synonyms in their publication.<br />
I complied total number of orchids found in Nepal with the help of many literature. <i><b>The total number of orchids found in Nepal is <u>494</u> (this includes 456 species, 30 varieties, 6 subspecies and 2 forma)</b></i>. These species fall within <b>104 genus</b><i><b>.</b></i></div>
<i><b>To see total list of orchids, click <a href="http://nepaliorchids.blogspot.com/p/orchid-of-nepal-checklist.html" target="_blank">here</a>.</b></i><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQGCBekfYNi1Y7KEfXKEVsskcoGN4k0h_vw_q23J-5mLBVKCwDn6w_1D2YRRKZViCxeZKRADQmpx_9ecoao0bvMLZ_tXt4ZoriE96_gAh24lc200wHHPG_zkznLmp2CsuD8Epo-tV8hMwB/s1600/Spiranthes_Pokhara_2008-04-16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQGCBekfYNi1Y7KEfXKEVsskcoGN4k0h_vw_q23J-5mLBVKCwDn6w_1D2YRRKZViCxeZKRADQmpx_9ecoao0bvMLZ_tXt4ZoriE96_gAh24lc200wHHPG_zkznLmp2CsuD8Epo-tV8hMwB/s640/Spiranthes_Pokhara_2008-04-16.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spiranthes spiralis (L.) Chevall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-63379040827057133572012-03-09T19:22:00.003+01:002012-04-22T09:11:41.005+02:00Distribution pattern of the epiphytic orchid Rhynchostylis retusa under strong human influence in Kathmandu valley, Nepal by Adhikari, YP and Fischer, A<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="text-align: justify;">A paper published in in a journal, <i>Botanica Orientalis</i> (2011 issue) by Adhikari, YP and Fischer, A., studied distribution pattern of the epiphytic orchid, </span><i style="text-align: justify;">Rhynchostylis retusa</i><span style="text-align: justify;"> (L.) Blume with respect to site haracteristics and host conditions and type and intensity of land use in Kathmandy valley, Nepal.</span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">The study found that </span><span style="text-align: left;"><i>R. retusa</i> was not a host-specific orchid species. It was found on different host tree species. </span><span style="text-align: left;">However, Ficus religiosa was the most common host species and there was weak correlation between <i>R. retusa</i> occurrence and </span><span style="text-align: left;">microclimate condition. <i>R. retusa</i>, to a certain degree, preferred light intensity of 40-80% of full sun </span><span style="text-align: left;">light, rough bark with pH around 6.5 and bark with a wide range of water holding capacity. The distribution </span><span style="text-align: left;">pattern of <i>R. retusa</i> was influenced by certain types of land use. The probability to find <i>R. retusa</i> was highest in </span><span style="text-align: left;">forest patches and parks and lowest in agricultural and dense populated area. The study concluded that to improve </span><span style="text-align: left;">the population size of <i>R. retusa</i>, trees (mainly Alnus nepalensis, Ficus religiosa and Schima wallichii) should </span><span style="text-align: left;">be planted in areas where the orchid species is recently missing. To download full paper click <a href="http://nepjol.info/index.php/BOTOR/article/view/5956/4948" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></div></div>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-18365717446404953352012-01-23T12:59:00.002+01:002012-06-07T08:57:27.098+02:00Orchid poaching and the media in Nepal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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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. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizqLfKUE14AAFbipuy_a0Bhh0pcIW_SYbnsjiXZfd8fZSB2u5lgJzvyQWsk3whoFwspd2uPYHqZHO3JRcV0HxxdRBIu9LYGxzKkieB2nJivYpxwslywHbR2cJvWN0_Dn1IhEeZj28VeSLn/s1600/orchid+poaching.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizqLfKUE14AAFbipuy_a0Bhh0pcIW_SYbnsjiXZfd8fZSB2u5lgJzvyQWsk3whoFwspd2uPYHqZHO3JRcV0HxxdRBIu9LYGxzKkieB2nJivYpxwslywHbR2cJvWN0_Dn1IhEeZj28VeSLn/s400/orchid+poaching.jpg" width="400" /></a>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)</div>
</div>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-48520558209142127412011-11-06T13:49:00.001+01:002012-04-22T09:11:40.974+02:00ORCHID DIVERSITY IN THE CHITWAN DISTRICT<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0SHAoS6phXgNmeQjAcL7hMLVxLdhYcErvbs7oJUAtLwdzVGGV4H6_91TRGEvcNKzC3wOsr-E1Rm7-lSz3LeEpaI2shzK6Bl4kVX3metThYWDaOqWrR4ZO5kZVrB397O5k4lQGoiyx5dM/s1600/Himalayan+biodiversity+in+changing+world.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju0SHAoS6phXgNmeQjAcL7hMLVxLdhYcErvbs7oJUAtLwdzVGGV4H6_91TRGEvcNKzC3wOsr-E1Rm7-lSz3LeEpaI2shzK6Bl4kVX3metThYWDaOqWrR4ZO5kZVrB397O5k4lQGoiyx5dM/s320/Himalayan+biodiversity+in+changing+world.jpg" width="220" /></a></div>There are few studies on orchids from low-land of Nepal. One article is recently published by Traxmandloá et. al. in a book: <b><i>Himalayan Biodiversity in the Changing World</i></b>. The book is edited by Pavel Kindlmann and published by Springer Publication in September 2011.<br />
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 <a href="http://www.springerlink.com/content/978-94-007-1801-2/#section=958141&page=1">here</a> to read details of this article.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJv7JRPd4LT1BLFoEaJDp21qqbQa7L_OJZiYVahsLLCDG8Tv51ZSwdtwVNTrLobZVTznL283a3sHkKcF68Zsh2sn5BU3XsqCHD99XvjnCp9STKLQzoSodJF-UFYFFhHXSablDHWoo8sfbo/s1600/Orchid_Chitwan.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJv7JRPd4LT1BLFoEaJDp21qqbQa7L_OJZiYVahsLLCDG8Tv51ZSwdtwVNTrLobZVTznL283a3sHkKcF68Zsh2sn5BU3XsqCHD99XvjnCp9STKLQzoSodJF-UFYFFhHXSablDHWoo8sfbo/s320/Orchid_Chitwan.jpg" width="370" /></a></div></div>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-56069017324675050612011-05-30T11:18:00.002+02:002012-04-22T09:11:40.986+02:00ORCHIDS IN ROLPA DISTRICT OF WESTERN NEPAL: DOCUMENTATION, STOCK, TRADE AND CONSERVATION<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">Study carried out by Koirala <i>et al</i> (2010) documented orchids from 17 Village Development Committees (VDCs) of Rolpa district, western Nepal and estimated the stock of two orchid species: <i>Dendrobium</i> <i>denudans </i>D.Don and <i>Dendrobium eriiflorum</i> 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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The total stock of <i>D. denudans</i> was highest in Uwa VDC with 11018.08 kg followed by Seram VDC with the stock of 9982.57 kg. Similarly, <i>D. eriiflorum</i> stock in Seram, Siuri andJaimakasala VDCs were 22750.01 kg, 7039.67 kg and 4933.46 kg, respectively. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">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, <i>Banko Jankari. </i>To access full article click <a href="http://nepjol.info/index.php/BANKO/article/view/4796" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-UdvpdzINXrY3wiqFXNWi6kdmEsm6zGKTPvlujBm9lKdJw1hHBvywAauPEU97Ak7i7NBQWTWJ6f7rD2dvX4Wt7SF1oD1XmoQDoUK2e39AdxggrCciAo1042vWpCTqA9KBxysFbQNuQHU/s1600/Dendrobium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz-UdvpdzINXrY3wiqFXNWi6kdmEsm6zGKTPvlujBm9lKdJw1hHBvywAauPEU97Ak7i7NBQWTWJ6f7rD2dvX4Wt7SF1oD1XmoQDoUK2e39AdxggrCciAo1042vWpCTqA9KBxysFbQNuQHU/s640/Dendrobium.jpg" width="500" /></a></div></div></div>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-14436205125833775802011-05-18T09:08:00.000+02:002012-04-22T09:11:40.852+02:00Orchid species richness along Himalayan elevation gradients<div style="text-align: justify;">I am very happy to share that one of my publication on orchids from Nepal and Bhutan is published in a journal, <i>Journal of Biogeography</i>. Ohh.... it took nearly 18 months to get published on line after we submitted. Although i might have done very little than my co-authors, its the first experience of publishing an article in a high impact factor journal. I want to thank all those who have supported during the study. </div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Main conclusion of the paper is: <i>This study shows that climatic variables (temperature and </i><i>precipitation) provide a good potential explanation for orchid species richness </i><i>along the Himalayan elevational gradient, even when the effect of area is </i><i>considered. The principal elevational peak in richness of central and eastern </i><i>Himalayan endemics was consistent with the peak in total orchid richness, but </i><i>maximum terrestrial endemic richness occurred at higher elevations.</i></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">Click <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02511.x/abstract">here</a> to read full article.</span></i></div><div><br /></div></div></div>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-46764680099949665572011-05-13T22:17:00.003+02:002012-04-19T06:19:40.678+02:00Orchid species richness along Himalayan elevation gradients<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">One of my paper on orchids from Nepal and Bhutan is published in an internal journal, <i>Journal of Biogeography</i>. 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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">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).</div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">To read full article click <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2699.2011.02511.x/abstract">here</a>.</div></div></div>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-2369213344389773472011-04-18T14:31:00.006+02:002012-04-22T09:11:40.954+02:00NOTICEABLE BOOKS ON ORCHIDS OF NEPAL<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Orchids of Nepal</span> 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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. The Orchids of Nepal Himalaya</span> 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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Wild Orchids in Nepal</span> 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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. Beautiful Orchids of Nepal</span> 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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">5. Nepali Orchids in Pictures</span> 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.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">6. The Orchids of Nepal</span> 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.</div><a href="http://picasion.com/" title="animated gif maker"><img alt="animated gif maker" border="0" height="400" src="http://i.picasion.com/pic40/edb60d9832277f260f8794efdca8dc20.gif" width="300" /></a></div>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-63649860501970747542011-02-27T14:36:00.019+01:002012-04-22T09:11:41.009+02:00MEDICINAL ORCHIDS OF NEPAL<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">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 <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://nepjol.info/index.php/ON/issue/current">Our Nature</a></span>. 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 <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrgsKIuaO-e431sO0PX-jKEDfEp1LEwbevouVKhICRHpL3-Ek9PMuozaET9WOKZ9ygBS4iXUXI6njnEiLNNpu8sakvUtfcrwvCuXUr9R06_y8MOA1qYlj9ULZhSH5XvhoRkgZ9X4-JjAn/s1600/Presentation2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5580340377900874962" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrgsKIuaO-e431sO0PX-jKEDfEp1LEwbevouVKhICRHpL3-Ek9PMuozaET9WOKZ9ygBS4iXUXI6njnEiLNNpu8sakvUtfcrwvCuXUr9R06_y8MOA1qYlj9ULZhSH5XvhoRkgZ9X4-JjAn/s320/Presentation2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 251px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a>habitat (7 %). The center Nepal harbors highest number of species (69 species i.e.</div>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.<br />
<br />
List of orchids used for medicinal purpose in different parts of Nepal is provided below:<br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 944px;"><colgroup><col style="width: 20pt;" width="26"></col> <col style="width: 206pt;" width="275"></col> <col style="width: 84pt;" width="112"></col> <col style="width: 398pt;" width="531"></col> </colgroup><tbody>
<tr height="18" style="height: 13.5pt;"> <td class="xl29" height="18" style="height: 13.5pt; width: 20pt;" width="26">S.N.</td> <td class="xl30" style="width: 206pt;" width="275">Accepted name of a species</td> <td class="xl29" style="width: 84pt;" width="112">Altitudinal distribution</td> <td class="xl30" style="width: 398pt;" width="531">Medicinal use Source/s</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">1</td> <td class="xl26">Acampe praemorsa<span class="font6"> (Roxb.) Blatt. & McCann</span></td> <td class="xl24">200-1200</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">2</td> <td class="xl26">Aerides multiflora<span class="font6"> Roxb.</span></td> <td class="xl24">200-1100</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">3</td> <td class="xl28">Aerides odotata<span class="font5"> Lour.</span></td> <td class="xl24">200-1200</td> <td class="xl27">Shrestha 2000, Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">4</td> <td class="xl26">Anoectochilus setaceus<span class="font6"> Blume</span></td> <td class="xl24">1000-1500</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">5</td> <td class="xl26">Arundina graminifolia<span class="font6"> (D.Don) Hochr</span></td> <td class="xl24">400-2300</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="16" style="height: 12pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="16" style="height: 12pt;">6</td> <td class="xl28">Brachycorythis obcordata<span class="font5"> (Lindl.) Sunnerh.</span></td> <td class="xl24">1000-2638</td> <td class="xl27">Jha <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 1996, Shrestha 2000, Vaidya </span><span class="font7">et al. 2000, </span><span class="font5">Rajbhandari 2001, Manandhar 2002, IUCN 2004, DPR 2007</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">7</td> <td class="xl28">Bulbophyllum careyanum<span class="font5"> (Hook.) Sprengel</span></td> <td class="xl24">6002100</td> <td class="xl27">Subedi 2003</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">8</td> <td class="xl28">Bulbophyllum leopardinum<span class="font5"> (Wall.) Wall. Ex lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">1500-3200</td> <td class="xl27">Subedi 2003</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">9</td> <td class="xl28">Bulbophyllum umbellatum<span class="font5"> Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">300-1800</td> <td class="xl27">Shrestha 2000</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">10</td> <td class="xl28">Calanthe griffithii<span class="font5"> Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">2200-2300</td> <td class="xl27">Subedi 2003</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">11</td> <td class="xl28">Calanthe plantaginea<span class="font5"> Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">1500-2200</td> <td class="xl27">Subedi 2003</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">12</td> <td class="xl28">Calanthe sylvatica<span class="font5"> (Thouars) Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">1500-2800</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000, Manandhar 2002</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">13</td> <td class="xl28">Coelogyne corymbosa<span class="font5"> Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">1500-2900</td> <td class="xl27">Shrestha 2000, Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000, Manandhar 2002</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">14</td> <td class="xl28">Coelogyne cristata<span class="font5"> Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">675-2450</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000, Manandhar 2002, DPR 2007</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">15</td> <td class="xl28">Coelogyne flaccida<span class="font5"> Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">900-1100</td> <td class="xl27">Manandhar 2002</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">16</td> <td class="xl28">Coelogyne fuscescens<span class="font5"> Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">1200-1830</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">17</td> <td class="xl28">Coelogyne nitida<span class="font5"> (Wall. ex. D. Don) Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">1300-2400</td> <td class="xl27">Manandhar 2002</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">18</td> <td class="xl28">Coelogyne ovalis<span class="font5"> Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">500-2700</td> <td class="xl27">Shrestha 2000</td> </tr>
<tr height="15" style="height: 11.25pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="15" style="height: 11.25pt;">19</td> <td class="xl28">Coelogyne prolifera<span class="font5"> Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">1000-2300</td> <td class="xl27">Rajbhandari <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000, Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000, Manandhar 2002, Subedi 2003</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">20</td> <td class="xl28">Coelogyne stricta<span class="font5"> (D. Don) Schltr.</span></td> <td class="xl24">14002135</td> <td class="xl27">Rajbhandari <span class="font7">et al. 2000, </span><span class="font5">Shrestha 2000, Vaidya </span><span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">21</td> <td class="xl28">Conchidium muscicola<span class="font5">(Lindl.) Rauschert</span></td> <td class="xl24">1500-1800</td> <td class="xl27">Shrestha 2000</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">22</td> <td class="xl28">Cymbidium alofolium<span class="font5"> (L.) Sw.</span></td> <td class="xl24">300-1600</td> <td class="xl27">Rajbhandari<span class="font7"> et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000, Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000, Manandhar 2002</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">23</td> <td class="xl28">Cymbidium devonianum<span class="font5"> Paxton</span></td> <td class="xl24">1500-1800</td> <td class="xl27">Manandhar 2002</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">24</td> <td class="xl28">Cymbidium iridioides<span class="font5"> D.Don</span></td> <td class="xl24">1500-2800</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">25</td> <td class="xl28">Cymbidium longifolium<span class="font5"> D.Don</span></td> <td class="xl24">1500-3000</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000, Baral & Khurmi 2006</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">26</td> <td class="xl28">Cypripedium cordigerum<span class="font5"> D.Don</span></td> <td class="xl24">2800-3800</td> <td class="xl27">Manandhar 2002</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">27</td> <td class="xl28">Cypripedium elegans<span class="font5"> Rchb.f.</span></td> <td class="xl24">2500-4200</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">28</td> <td class="xl28">Cypripedium himalaicum<span class="font5"> Rolfe</span></td> <td class="xl24">3000-4800</td> <td class="xl27">Lama <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2001, Manandhar 2002</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">29</td> <td class="xl28">Dactylorhiza hatagirea<span class="font5"> (D.Don) Soó</span></td> <td class="xl24">2800-3960</td> <td class="xl27">Shrestha 2000, Vaidya<span class="font7"> et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000, Lama </span><span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2001, Rajbhandari 2001, Manandhar 2002, IUCN 2004 </span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">30</td> <td class="xl28">Dendrobium amoenum<span class="font5"> Wall. ex Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">1100-2900</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">31</td> <td class="xl28">Dendrobium crepidatum<span class="font5"> Lindl. & Paxton</span></td> <td class="xl24">1200-2400</td> <td class="xl27">Subedi 2003</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">32</td> <td class="xl28">Dendrobium densiflorum<span class="font5"> Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">900-2900</td> <td class="xl27">Manandhar 2002</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">33</td> <td class="xl28">Dendrobium fimbriatum<span class="font5"> Hook.</span></td> <td class="xl24">200-2135</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">34</td> <td class="xl28">Dendrobium longicornu<span class="font5"> Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">1300-2900</td> <td class="xl27">Manandhar 1995, Manandhar 2002</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">35</td> <td class="xl28">Dendrobium monticola<span class="font5"> P.F.Hunt & Summerh.</span></td> <td class="xl24">1525-2700</td> <td class="xl27">Shrestha 2000, Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">36</td> <td class="xl28">Dendrobium moschatum<span class="font5"> (Buch.-Ham.) Sw.</span></td> <td class="xl24">200-1200</td> <td class="xl27">Subedi 2003</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">37</td> <td class="xl28">Dendrobium nobile<span class="font5"> Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">400-1500</td> <td class="xl27">Shrestha 2000, Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">38</td> <td class="xl28">Dendrobium transparens<span class="font5"> Wall. ex Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">700-2000</td> <td class="xl27">Subedi 2003</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">39</td> <td class="xl28">Ephemerantha macraei<span class="font5"> (Lindl.) P.F. Hunt & Summerh.</span></td> <td class="xl24">500-2400</td> <td class="xl27">Jha <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 1996, Vaidya </span><span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000, IUCN 2004, DPR 2007</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">40</td> <td class="xl28">Epipactis gigantea<span class="font5"> Douglas ex Hook</span></td> <td class="xl24">2900-3200</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">41</td> <td class="xl28">Epipactis helleborine<span class="font5"> (L.) Crantz</span></td> <td class="xl24">1500-3300</td> <td class="xl27">Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000, Rokaya 2002</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">42</td> <td class="xl28">Epipactis royleana<span class="font5"> Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">1400-3400</td> <td class="xl27">Manandhar 2002</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">43</td> <td class="xl28">Eria spicata<span class="font5"> (D.Don) Hand.-Mazz.</span></td> <td class="xl24">900-2200</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">44</td> <td class="xl28">Eulophia comestrs<span class="font5"> Wall.</span></td> <td class="xl24">300</td> <td class="xl27">Shrestha 2000</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">45</td> <td class="xl28">Eulophia dabia<span class="font5"> (D.Don) Hochr.</span></td> <td class="xl24">400-2000</td> <td class="xl27">Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000, DPR 2007</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">46</td> <td class="xl28">Eulophia spectabilis<span class="font5"> (Dennst.) Suresh </span></td> <td class="xl24">400-1800</td> <td class="xl27">Rajbhandari<span class="font7"> et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000, Shrestha 2000, Vaidya </span><span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">47</td> <td class="xl26">Flickingeria fimbriata<span class="font6"> (Blume) A.D.Hawkes</span></td> <td class="xl24"><br />
</td> <td class="xl27">Sharma 2000</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">48</td> <td class="xl28">Flickingeria macraei<span class="font5"> (Lindl.) Seidenf.</span></td> <td class="xl24"><br />
</td> <td class="xl27">Rajbhandari<span class="font7"> et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000, Shrestha 2000, Vaidya </span><span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">49</td> <td class="xl28">Gymnadenia conopsea<span class="font5"> (L.) R. Br.</span></td> <td class="xl24">4300</td> <td class="xl27">Rokaya 2002</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">50</td> <td class="xl28">Gymnadenia orchidis<span class="font5"> Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">1352-4700</td> <td class="xl27">Manandhar 1995, Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000, Manandhar 2002, Rokaya 2002</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">51</td> <td class="xl28">Habenaria commelinifolia<span class="font5"> (Roxb.) Wall. ex Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">300-1200</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">52</td> <td class="xl28">Habenaria furcifera<span class="font5"> Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">150-800</td> <td class="xl27">Manandhar 2002</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">53</td> <td class="xl28">Habenaria intermedia<span class="font5"> D.Don</span></td> <td class="xl24">1800-3300</td> <td class="xl27">Shrestha 2000, Manandhar 2002</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">54</td> <td class="xl28">Liparis nervosa<span class="font5"> (Thunb.) Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">1200-2800</td> <td class="xl27">Shrestha 2000</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">55</td> <td class="xl28">Liparis rostrata<span class="font5"> Rchb.f.</span></td> <td class="xl24">2000-3000</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">56</td> <td class="xl28">Luisia trichorrhiza<span class="font5"> (Hook.) Blume</span></td> <td class="xl24">1000-1400</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">57</td> <td class="xl28">Luisia tristis<span class="font5"> (G.Forst.) Hook.f.</span></td> <td class="xl24">300-2300</td> <td class="xl27">Rajbhandari<span class="font7"> et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000, Shrestha 2000, Vaidya </span><span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000, Manandhar 2002</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">58</td> <td class="xl28">Malaxis acuminata<span class="font5"> D.Don</span></td> <td class="xl24">450-3050</td> <td class="xl27">Shrestha 2000, Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000, DPR 2007</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">59</td> <td class="xl28">Malaxis cylindrostachya<span class="font5"> (Lindl.) Kuntze</span></td> <td class="xl24">2100-3500</td> <td class="xl27">Manandhar 2002</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">60</td> <td class="xl28">Malaxis muscifera<span class="font5"> (Lindl.) Kuntze</span></td> <td class="xl24">2000-4100</td> <td class="xl27">DPR 2007</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">61</td> <td class="xl28">Nervilia aragoana<span class="font5"> Gaudich.</span></td> <td class="xl24">500-1300</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000, DPR 2007</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">62</td> <td class="xl28">Oberonia caulescens<span class="font5"> Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">1300-2400</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">63</td> <td class="xl28">Orchis latifolia<span class="font5"> Linn.*</span></td> <td class="xl24"><br />
</td> <td class="xl27">Sharma 2000</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">64</td> <td class="xl28">Otochilus porrectus<span class="font5"> Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">900-2300</td> <td class="xl27">IUCN 2004</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">65</td> <td class="xl28">Papilionanthe teres<span class="font5"> (Roxb.) Schltr.</span></td> <td class="xl24">200-2100</td> <td class="xl27">Manandhar 2002</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">66</td> <td class="xl28">Pholidota articulata<span class="font5"> Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">570-2285</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000, Manandhar 2002</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="16" style="height: 12pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="16" style="height: 12pt;">67</td> <td class="xl28">Pholidota imbricata<span class="font5"> Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">600-2900</td> <td class="xl27">Rajbhandari<span class="font7"> et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000, Shrestha 2000, Vaidya </span><span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000, Manandhar 2002</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">68</td> <td class="xl28">Platanthera sikkimensis<span class="font5"> (Hook.f.) Kraenzl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">2600-2900</td> <td class="xl27">Shrestha 2000, Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">69</td> <td class="xl28">Pleione humilis<span class="font5"> (Sm.) D.Don</span></td> <td class="xl24">1800-3000</td> <td class="xl27">Manandhar 2002</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">70</td> <td class="xl28">Pleione maculata<span class="font5"> (Lindl.) Lindl. & Paxton</span></td> <td class="xl24">1400-2700</td> <td class="xl27">Shrestha 2000, Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">71</td> <td class="xl28">Pleione praecox<span class="font5"> (Sm.) D.Don</span></td> <td class="xl24">1500-2500</td> <td class="xl27">Rajbhandari 2001, Manandhar 2002</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">72</td> <td class="xl28">Ponerorchis chusua<span class="font5"> (D.Don) Soó</span></td> <td class="xl24">2400-4900</td> <td class="xl27">Rokaya 2002</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">73</td> <td class="xl28">Rhynchostylis retusa<span class="font5"> (L.) Blume</span></td> <td class="xl24">300-1850</td> <td class="xl27">Shrestha 2000, Vaidya et al. 2000, Manandhar 2002, DPR 2007</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">74</td> <td class="xl28">Satyrium nepalense<span class="font5"> D.Don</span></td> <td class="xl24">600-4600</td> <td class="xl27">Shrestha 2000, Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">75</td> <td class="xl28">Smitinandia micrantha<span class="font5"> (Lindl.) Holttum</span></td> <td class="xl24">500-1400</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000, Rajbhandari 2001, Manandhar 2002</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">76</td> <td class="xl28">Spiranthes sinensis<span class="font5"> (Pers.) Ames</span></td> <td class="xl24">150-4600</td> <td class="xl27">Shrestha 2000, Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000 Rokaya 2002</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">77</td> <td class="xl28">Thunia alba<span class="font5"> (Lindl.) Rchb.f.</span></td> <td class="xl24">500-1800</td> <td class="xl27">Manandhar 2002</td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">78</td> <td class="xl28">Trudelia praviflora<span class="font5">*</span></td> <td class="xl24">350-915</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">79</td> <td class="xl28">Vanda cristata<span class="font5"> Wall. ex Lindl.</span></td> <td class="xl24">620-2300</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya<span class="font7"> et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000, Rajbhandari 2001, Manandhar 2002</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">80</td> <td class="xl28">Vanda tessellata<span class="font5"> (Roxb.) Hook. ex G.Don</span></td> <td class="xl24">200-600</td> <td class="xl27">Rajbhandari <span class="font7">et al. </span><span class="font5">2000, Shrestha 2000, Vaidya </span><span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;"> <td class="xl24" height="17" style="height: 12.75pt;">81</td> <td class="xl26">Vanda testacea<span class="font6"> (Lindl.) Rchb.f.</span></td> <td class="xl24">460</td> <td class="xl27">Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
<tr height="18" style="height: 13.5pt;"> <td class="xl25" height="18" style="height: 13.5pt;">82</td> <td class="xl31">Zeuxine strateumatica<span class="font5"> (L.) Schltr.</span></td> <td class="xl25">230-1220</td> <td class="xl32">Shrestha 2000, Vaidya <span class="font7">et al.</span><span class="font5"> 2000</span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Full article can be found <a href="http://nepjol.info/index.php/ON/issue/current/showToc">here</a>.</div>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-59709176663194334392010-11-05T09:04:00.004+01:002012-04-22T09:11:40.993+02:00FOOD-DECEPTIVE ORCHID SPECIES FLOWER EARLIER AND OCCUR AT LOWER ALTITUDES THAN REWARDING ONES<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">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 <span style="font-style: italic;">et al</span> (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 <span style="font-style: italic;">Journal of Plant Ecology</span>,3(4),243-250.<a href="http://jpe.oxfordjournals.org/content/3/4/243.abstract"> Link for article</a>.</div></div>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-61468674404346831542010-10-11T22:00:00.011+02:002011-05-08T14:54:08.930+02:00Spiranthes spiralis (L.) Chevall<div style="text-align: justify;">Photos of <em>Spiranthes spiralis</em> (L.) Chevall collected from Pokhara valley. The species is newly reported from Nepal.<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIfrhbWUzCisUdmcPJnmwk4p_i1zp8JZ6fcj8U9wS7jJz8Vl16qAs8zeQ69o2KMj4ED9qLyobQBSuIZbKX9w7Q4GXtZEEdiz4KLkGe-_e-asUMFc0ZrX97E8dCKcbUybkgS-j_QZ-PZv7_/s1600/Orchid+1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 380px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIfrhbWUzCisUdmcPJnmwk4p_i1zp8JZ6fcj8U9wS7jJz8Vl16qAs8zeQ69o2KMj4ED9qLyobQBSuIZbKX9w7Q4GXtZEEdiz4KLkGe-_e-asUMFc0ZrX97E8dCKcbUybkgS-j_QZ-PZv7_/s400/Orchid+1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526885358095267074" border="0" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSPfSbzx7dKMQk7k7b0Ii1k5POR0LMvCq86PdcH1lXQR6WIPqOf5QdmZ9x9vbydec52tYBreFfIdOt460cTVMTQ1KfzKdqZZPYZJ10vceaZKmnQ8PorSXxIrUQ8tq-zhnM_qjiYDgKfaYY/s1600/Orchid+2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 380px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSPfSbzx7dKMQk7k7b0Ii1k5POR0LMvCq86PdcH1lXQR6WIPqOf5QdmZ9x9vbydec52tYBreFfIdOt460cTVMTQ1KfzKdqZZPYZJ10vceaZKmnQ8PorSXxIrUQ8tq-zhnM_qjiYDgKfaYY/s400/Orchid+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526885938221577154" border="0" /></a>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-80204537460232325012010-07-17T02:51:00.005+02:002012-04-22T09:11:41.026+02:00ORCHID SPECIES FIRST TIME REPORTED FROM CENTRAL NEPAL<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">One species of orchid (<em>Spiranthes spiralis</em>) is first time reported from Pokhara, Central Nepal. Information on this species is published in a reputed journal, <em>Hardvard Papers in Botany</em>, 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. </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd9q5cEtBPsI-9Px-7GoXVmatLBgY-LnQHAms_A4R2tgP9MrdrG1v8MnWxJHTBIMYhCpcyV4mlvl80nB7HxQnK1yTKGvxdxKxjrPctEgT_OcH56c6t5YBBFhipJbUFkh-I0GoKo_zL6sce/s1600/ORCHID.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494674477259688146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd9q5cEtBPsI-9Px-7GoXVmatLBgY-LnQHAms_A4R2tgP9MrdrG1v8MnWxJHTBIMYhCpcyV4mlvl80nB7HxQnK1yTKGvxdxKxjrPctEgT_OcH56c6t5YBBFhipJbUFkh-I0GoKo_zL6sce/s400/ORCHID.jpg" style="height: 300px; width: 500px;" /></a></div></div>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-35557231889732779002010-03-08T15:42:00.007+01:002012-04-22T09:11:40.967+02:00TWO NEW ORCHIDACEAE FROM CENTRAL NEPAL<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">Two new species of orchids: <em>Eria annapurnensis</em> L.R.Shakya & M.R.Shrestha, a new species, and <em>Gastrochilus calceolaris</em> var. <em>biflora</em> 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, <strong><em>EDINBURGH JOURNAL OF BOTANY</em></strong>. Diagrammatic sketch of these two species is presented below:</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbNPMTsNj7jIom_fXuC2NalqDY4JCiBJ3YKP0LxaeRyXfVo3thceVIm_FHy8lPlJQJpOYlecEtaGU-Y2afQ9ZBlg_4WhQ_tCFRm1_e8FG7_fR-jqcUPcDQ5xqnwWK-V6niW4-WtowulTh-/s1600-h/two+orchids.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446281355193239010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbNPMTsNj7jIom_fXuC2NalqDY4JCiBJ3YKP0LxaeRyXfVo3thceVIm_FHy8lPlJQJpOYlecEtaGU-Y2afQ9ZBlg_4WhQ_tCFRm1_e8FG7_fR-jqcUPcDQ5xqnwWK-V6niW4-WtowulTh-/s400/two+orchids.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; height: 350px; width: 500px;" /></a></div>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-72975704719331135382009-12-06T13:49:00.009+01:002012-04-22T09:11:41.018+02:00NEW ORCHID SPECIES RECORDED FROM NEPAL<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">New species of orchid, <em>Goodyera foliosa </em>(Lindl.) Benth. ex C.B. Clarke var. <em>commelinoides</em> (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. <strong>7</strong>(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, <em><strong>Scientific World</strong></em>.</div>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-63313345813864934532009-11-13T10:36:00.003+01:002012-04-22T09:11:41.001+02:00THE ROLE OF CITES IN ORCHID CONSERVATION<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">Scientists have traced orchids as far back as 120 million years. These plants first received recognition in the herbal writings of Japan and China 3,000 to 4,000 years ago. Once the province of rulers and other powerful officials, orchids are now widely available. The elegant, often brilliantly colored plants grace restaurant tables, offices, homes, and department stores. During the past 10 to 15 years, orchids have achieved unprecedented commercial popularity. They have been the subject of popular books (The Orchid Thief, Orchid Fever) and a movie (Adaptation). In the United States alone, the orchid business exceeds $100 million annually, according to a USDA Floriculture Crops Report.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are over 20,000 species in the family Orchidaceae, within about 900 genera. The actual number is unknown and the subject of debate, with new species still being discovered. The entire orchid family has been included in the CITES Appendices since the treaty entered into force in 1975. Several species were included in Appendix I because they were over-collected from the wild for horticulture. In 1989, all species in the genera Paphiopedilum and Phragmipedium, the tropical slipper orchids, were transferred to Appendix I because of the high rate of endemism (occurring within a small area) within each genus, the rarity of some species, the similarity of appearance among many species, and their popularity in trade. The vast majority of orchids were included in Appendix II because they resemble other species of conservation concern.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Import and export data indicate that 20 to 25 million or more orchid plants are traded each year worldwide. The overwhelming majority, 95 percent or more, are Appendix-II artificially propagated species and their hybrids, comprising several popular genera. Given these statistics, one might wonder why CITES still protects artificially propagated plants.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">When not in flower, some orchids can be indistinguishable from each other, even to a professional. This similarity of appearance facilitates the poaching and subsequent commercial use of wild orchids. For example, tropical slipper orchids have been the subject of intense collection pressure. The recent discovery of a new Phragmipedium species in Peru provides an example. Once news of this magnificently huge-blossomed orchid broke, every plant in the original population was eliminated from its wild environment within a matter of days as collectors ravaged the hillsides where it was found. Orchids continue to be listed under CITES to discourage the poaching of wild plants and to limit opportunities for wild specimens to slip into commercial trade.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For Appendix-II orchids, the CITES Parties decided that trade in certain parts and products is not detrimental to the survival of the species. They agreed to exempt the following from CITES permitting requirements: seeds; pollinia (the encapsulated pollen of orchids); tissue cultures and flasked seedlings; cut flowers of artificially propagated plants; and, for Vanilla species, fruits, parts, and derivatives from artificially propagated plants. Generally, trade in any parts or derivatives of Appendix-I orchids requires a permit, although the CITES Party countries have agreed to exempt flasked seedlings in sterile culture if they meet the CITES definition of artificially propagated plants.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The CITES Plants Committee, which provides technical and scientific support to the Parties, recently reviewed the listing of orchid species to see if it was possible to deregulate certain plants without adversely affecting those that need protection. The goal of this review was to reduce the burden on permit-issuing agencies, border inspection officials, and the regulated public. CITES countries also sought an alternative approach that could focus conservation attention on those species that are removed from the wild each year for international trade.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A comprehensive review of the orchid trade, based on 1995-1999 data, revealed that most of the trade involved 40 genera, which are traded in the thousands. Of the other orchid genera, 326 had never been recorded in trade; 201 had only been traded for scientific purposes; and, for 105, fewer than 50 specimens had been recorded. This analysis suggested that more than half of the known genera of orchids might conceivably be removed from CITES controls.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Plants Committee concluded, however, that all orchids should remain listed due to the enormity of the orchid family, the difficulty of distinguishing different genera based on vegetative characteristics alone (orchids generally are not traded while flowering), and the confusion that could result from extensive compilations of genera listed and unlisted under CITES. As a consequence, the Plants Committee considered whether some other approach to deregulation might be possible.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 2001, the Plants Committee asked the U.S. to work with the American Orchid Society to develop a proposal for exempting artificially propagated hybrids of six popular orchid genera--Cattleya, Cymbidium, Dendrobium, Oncidium, Phalaenopsis, and Vanda--from CITES permitting requirements. The rationale for such a proposal was that these genera are traded in high volumes, mostly as hybrids that are generally highly uniform in size and overall appearance. This facilitates their identification as artificially propagated specimens. At their 2002 meeting in Santiago, Chile, the CITES Parties agreed to exempt only artificially propagated Phalaenopsis hybrids as a test case to see if such an approach would be workable. At their most recent meeting, in Bangkok in 2004, the Parties agreed to exempt the artificially propagated hybrids of four Southeast Asian genera: Cymbidium, Dendrobium, Phalaenopsis, and Vanda.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">While CITES countries continue to consider whether to deregulate elements of the orchid trade involving little or no conservation risk, it remains a challenge to protect species vulnerable to over-exploitation by the international market. As orchids become increasingly popular, CITES countries continue to work to ensure the protection of wild populations.</div><em>Spurce:Endangered Species Bulletin</em></div>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-55793630026870008782009-03-26T05:27:00.008+01:002012-04-22T09:11:40.984+02:00POLLINATION: SELF-FERTILIZATION STRATEGY IN AN ORCHID<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">An orchid that flowers in harsh conditions pollinates itself unassisted by any of the usual agents. Mating in flowering plants normally relies on animals, wind, gravity or secretion to convey pollen grains from the male (anther) to the female (stigma) organ1. Apart from that, a new type of self-pollination mechanism in the tree-living orchid <em>Holcoglossum amesianum</em>, is observed in which the bisexual flower turns its anther against gravity through 360° in order to insert pollen into its own stigma cavity — without the aid of any pollinating agent or medium. This mode of self-pollination, which occurs under windless, drought conditions when insects are scarce, adds to the variety of mechanisms that have evolved in angiosperms to ensure their reproductive success.<br />
Almost two thousand <em>H. Amesianum</em> flowers were studied over three flowering seasons in forests in the Yunnan province of China. Each flower has a beak-like projection, known as the rostellum, which separates the anther, the male organ of the flower, from the female stigma cavity. During self-pollination, the anther extends itself downward beyond the rostellum and then thrusts itself upwards to insert pollen into the stigma cavity. All of the flowers were found to use this strategy, and over half succeeded at self-pollination with almost all of these going on to bear fruit.<br />
<em><strong>Source: http://www.nature.com/nchina</strong></em></div>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-82981346873142924642009-03-26T05:03:00.007+01:002012-04-22T09:11:41.033+02:00ORCHID SPECIES LOSS BY CLIMATE CHANGE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Climate change has led to major changes in the phenology (the timing of seasonal activities, such as flowering) of orchids along with some other species. This result came after the analysis of dataset of the flora of Massachusetts where the informations on life spans of ≈150 years in species abundance and flowering time were observed. Species that do not respond to temperature have decreased greatly in abundance, and include orchids and others like anemones and buttercups, asters and campanulas, bluets, lilies, roses etc. Because flowering-time response traits are shared among closely related species, the findings suggest that climate change has affected and will likely continue to shape the phylogenetically biased pattern of species loss.<br />
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Detail of this information can be obtained from PNAS on November 4, 2008 vol. 105 no. 44 17029-17033.</div>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-36027339289653011502009-03-17T05:57:00.004+01:002012-04-22T09:11:40.970+02:00MASSIVE FOREST FIRE IN LANGTANT NATIONAL PARK<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><em>News from NASA</em><br />
On March 12, 2009, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite caught a glimpse of a relatively rare event: large–scale forest fires in the Himalaya Mountains of Nepal. Places where the sensor detected active fires are outlined in red. The numerous small fires in southern Nepal may not be wildfires, but rather agricultural or other land-management fires.<br />
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The image is centered on Nepal, and it shows the towering Himalaya Mountains arcing through the small country. Many national parks and conservation areas are located along the northern border of the country, and the fires appear to be burning in or very near some of them. Five people were killed by the forest fire southwest of Annapurna in early March; according to a news report they were overtaken while in the forest gathering firewood. According to that report, Nepal commonly experiences some small forest fires each spring, which is the end of the dry season there. However, conditions during the fall and winter of 2008 and 2009 were unusually dry, and fires set by poachers to flush game may have gotten out of control.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwOc78YjkQ79RvMlruQHmDtaOU_rHU0BWnaXxLRmYlEVOCaUmsdCJOi-FNXuydA3-Ikrz28X_-yFMbZJQ31aFYnVpslhnh5IeTFe4EFi_T-hYjkXFUyeLWqSlUv5P_w3c918NEvxDZ6zL5/s1600-h/forest+fire+in+langtang.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314372994456159602" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwOc78YjkQ79RvMlruQHmDtaOU_rHU0BWnaXxLRmYlEVOCaUmsdCJOi-FNXuydA3-Ikrz28X_-yFMbZJQ31aFYnVpslhnh5IeTFe4EFi_T-hYjkXFUyeLWqSlUv5P_w3c918NEvxDZ6zL5/s400/forest+fire+in+langtang.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 300px; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
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<em>Source:www.nasa.gov</em></div>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-7194630768046630362009-03-08T04:03:00.006+01:002012-04-19T06:21:22.937+02:00ITS GOOD TO BLOG<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Is blogging contributed to Science? An interesting editorial appeared in Journal Nature.<br />
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Is blogging a part of science, journalism or public discourse? In fact it may be all of these — an ambiguity that can sometimes leave scientists feeling uncertain about the rules of the game. Imagine, for example, a case in which Nature’s blog The Great<br />
Beyond highlights new scientific results presented at a conference on climate. That blog entry then stimulates an online debate, with climate skeptics interpreting the results their way, and others firing off rebuttals. Imagine also that the work is described in a paper that had been accepted, but not published, by Nature. The authors of the paper want to enter the fray, but feel inhibited from doing so because of the embargo imposed by Nature and many other journals on communication by authors to the media ahead of publication. And why was Nature blogging their work anyway, ahead of its publication?<br />
<em>Read more in Nature</em></div>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-69299849518985915742009-03-08T03:52:00.007+01:002012-04-22T09:11:41.013+02:00OVER HARVESTING AND TRADE OF ORCHIDS FROM CHURIA HILLS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Huge amount of orchids are collected illegally and in unscientific way. Orchid species are exploited for medicinal purpose from tropical and sub-tropical region. Threats to conservation of orchids in Nepal are associated with habitat loss,<br />
forest destruction, and degradation and over exploitation.<br />
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Huge amounts of Orchids are harvested in Makwanpur district and are exported to neighbouring countries of Nepal.<br />
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Orchids are used as weeds, compost, scattered, bedding and cattle feed. The poor<br />
collect it and are meagerly compensated with little money. It has been a losing battle and these days, the collectors have to venture deeper into the forest for orchids collection. And they are worried, because their livelihood depends on orchids.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO76NUreJb5Z3CWszkeGNfNYpgX_icXMFqoLngO2q9uuHr85Vje9tTC9aFp3OgVMvuSGbatwo3Pxop6mO6BVifMiQfyiwK3OtV7a4Ic_LDJbfSKtugsEkEKBqjzCN9M9iddcj1KH5N6zld/s1600-h/orchid+for+sale.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310646729055454290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO76NUreJb5Z3CWszkeGNfNYpgX_icXMFqoLngO2q9uuHr85Vje9tTC9aFp3OgVMvuSGbatwo3Pxop6mO6BVifMiQfyiwK3OtV7a4Ic_LDJbfSKtugsEkEKBqjzCN9M9iddcj1KH5N6zld/s400/orchid+for+sale.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; height: 400px; width: 520px;" /></a></div>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7362156586105381618.post-88372758157233167982008-07-13T08:39:00.003+02:002012-04-22T09:11:41.037+02:00Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D. Don) Soo – a west Himalayan orchid in peril<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Dactylorhiza hatagirea (D. Don) Soo (family Orchidaceae), a high-value medicinal plant, is reported to occur in temperate to alpine regions (2500–5000 m asl)in India, Pakistan and Nepal. It is commonly known as "Panch aaule" in nepal is in peril. Read details <a href="http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/aug252005/610.pdf">here</a></div>Kamal Prasad Acharyahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04879302530413168291noreply@blogger.com0