The new orchid

“As many as 25 species new to Manipur have been spotted. Out of this,one we believe is a completely new species. Manipur has not been explored so we have undertaken the task to go around the state and look for all the available species of orchids. We expect to find many more,” says Prof Emeritus,Panjab University,S P Vij,who is also the principal investigator for the centre.

Ione Kipgenii has received peer verification from the board of trustees at Royal Botanic Gardens,Kew (London),and has been published in the Kew Bulletin,says head scientist and researcher at the centre Dr R K Kishore. He says the centre believes at least two to three more of the 25 species discovered in the last few months may be completely new to the orchid family.

“There are 280 reported species of orchids in Manipur that we know of. In the Northeast,Arunachal Pradesh has so far the highest number of orchid species at 600,while Sikkim has 500. We have also found the Thinia species,which is widely found in Myanmar and other parts of Southeast Asia. It has been spotted for the first time in Manipur,” says Kishore.

Vij says it could be because the region falls in a seismic zone that such a large number of orchids are found here. “Whenever there is seismic activity,there are mutations,especially in plants,leading to new species of plants. We are creating a gene bank of orchid species not just for Manipur but for the entire northeastern region,” he adds.

To carry out in situ conservation of the plant,the centre has kept 250 acres of hilly land where it will recreate an orchid habitat and preserve all discovered varieties of orchids. There are 900 species of orchids in the northeastern region alone. While 17-20 different species of orchids have already been lost in the country,another 150 have lost their habitat and are in danger of extinction,says Vij.

Among the endangered species are,Kishore points out,the Lady’s Slipper,the red Renanthera imschootiana (the yellow version of the orchid is already extinct) and Paphiopedilum.

“Apart from their value as beautiful cut-flowers,orchids have many medicinal properties. The first raid on orchids in the Northeast,and particularly in Manipur,was by the British who extracted as many plants as they could and took them back to England in huge quantities — especially from Senapati district,” he says.

The present threat to the Indian orchid is primarily from China,which has a huge market for the plant,says Dr Kishore. Orchids are used by the Chinese as aphrodisiacs and are also used to make a variety of popular health drinks. “The orchids are collected by villagers and sold to middlemen who take them to Moreh,the border town,from where they reach China through Myanmar,” he says.

What makes this possible is the fact that orchids last upto a month,even longer,after being plucked.

Smuggling of orchids to China and other countries like Japan and Korea is one of the main factors for depletion of the flowers in both western and eastern Himalayas. In the western Himalayas orchids are sold for as high as Rs 10,000 per kg,while in the eastern Himalayas — Arunachal,Sikkim,Nagaland and Manipur — the orchids fetch around Rs 600-900 per kg.

Some orchids,says Vij,are even thought to be cures for diseases like cancer and HIV/AIDS. “A survey conducted ten years ago found that people surrounded by orchids or working with orchids lived 13.6 years longer than those who did not. The belief is that longevity is enhanced through this plant and therefore they have very high value in the international market. We are now trying to locate and investigate the molecule which is thought to enhance longevity. For instance,chavanprash has eight different components in its mixture — four of these are from orchids,” he adds.

One of the main aims of the centre,says founder Haokholet Kipgen,is to transfer the technology of commercial farming of orchids as an alternative livelihood for poor farmers of the region. “A part of the ex situ conservation,the centre aims to establish a rich germplasm bank of all the so far reported orchid species found in the Northeast and also other parts of the country. Under the extension programme,50,000 seedlings of different cut-flower hybrid orchids will be grown through tissue culture and then later distributed among local farmers.”