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.

THE ROLE OF CITES IN ORCHID CONSERVATION

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Spurce:Endangered Species Bulletin

POLLINATION: SELF-FERTILIZATION STRATEGY IN AN ORCHID

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 Holcoglossum amesianum, 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.
Almost two thousand H. Amesianum 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.
Source: http://www.nature.com/nchina

ORCHID SPECIES LOSS BY CLIMATE CHANGE

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.

Detail of this information can be obtained from PNAS on November 4, 2008 vol. 105 no. 44 17029-17033.

MASSIVE FOREST FIRE IN LANGTANT NATIONAL PARK

News from NASA
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.

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.



Source:www.nasa.gov