Conservation of Wild Orchids of Kodagu in the Western Ghats

One of the largest families of the flowering plants of India are the orchidaceae – about 1141 species in 166 genera, many of which are endemic. Around 267 orchid species have been identified in the western ghats region alone. Taking this group as an indicator species, Dr. T. Ananda Rao of the Karnataka Association for the Advancement of Science at Bangalore has focussed his study on Tadiandamol in Kodagu district of Karnataka. He has taken great pains to record and describe with illustrations the orchid species from this area. Further, he has been instrumental in transplanting 78 species at a riverine island of the Cauvery river called Nisargadhama, also in Kodagu district, which has now developed into a veritable orchidarium. "Thus, the project has addressed the objectives of both ex-situ and in-situ conservation with respect to the orchids of Tadiandamol. 38 of these orchids have been found to be disjunctly distributed in South India and Sri Lanka. In effect, Tadiandamol area is a repository of important orchid species and valuable as far as their distribution in India goes. Dr. Rao has also identified 18 orchids as those having potential value for horticulture. Yet another significant outcome is the identification of two more 'hotspots' – Bababudan hills (Chikmagalur district) and Dandeli Reserve Forest (Uttara Kannada district) – during the implementation of the study.