Rare orchid species Liparis Pygmaea found in Uttarakhand
Sep 10, 2020
Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], September 10 : Liparis Pygmaea, one of the rarest orchid species has been found for the first time in Western Himalayan region by a team of Uttarakhand Forest Research Wing headed by Sanjiv Chaturvedi, Chief Conservator of Forest (Research).
The species was found on June 23 this year by Research Range Officer Harish Negi and JRF Manoj Singh, at an altitude of 3800m, during a trek to Saptakund in Chamoli District.
Chaturvedi termed it a very important development in the study of rare orchid species in Alpine regions of Himalayas.
He said that appropriate conservation measures would be undertaken. "This species is in the red list of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)," he added.
The team has sent the flower samples to Botanical Survey of India, which confirmed the species and preserved it in Herbarium collection.
Liparis Pygmaea is a small terrestrial orchid with beautiful flowers springing on it in the month of June-July.
Earlier Liparis Pygmaea was located once in Sikkim in the past 100 years, Chaturvedi, said.
