monalisa patsani, post news network, Bhubaneswar, July 9: The Nandankanan Zoo hosts more than 1000 orchid plants of 57 varieties belonging to 37 species in a 5,000 sq ft area. This exotic orchid house had been a centre of attraction for the visitors since 2010, when it came into existence on the campus of the zoo.
Being an epicentre of ethereal beauty, this house of Orchids often attracts the eyeballs of the wandering visitors to the zoo. In its short span of life, it has become a centre of importance for the plant scientists, who pursue their research on the flowering plants.
However, many researchers feel that to make the place more worthy of research scholars, several other species of orchids could be planted here. They are of the opinion that more the diversity, better the prospect of the place in terms of footfall of the researchers, who otherwise are required to travel long distances in search of these exotic plants.
Nihar Ranjan Naik, a senior scientist of the Regional Plant Resource Centre, Bhubaneswar, said, “The orchid house at the zoo has a heap of orchids from all over the region. There are two varieties of orchids, wild and hybrid. Most orchids displayed in the house are hybrid orchids. Therefore, there is a dearth of wild orchids. There is a restriction on bringing wild orchids; maybe that is the reason for the lesser number of wild orchids in the house.”
He went on to add, “For research, I and many other scholars often visit places like Similipal and other areas in Orissa where wide varieties of wild orchids are found. I think, the orchid house at the Nandankanan needs to get more wild orchids from other parts of the country. It would not only attract more tourists, but also help researchers working on orchids in the state and country.”
Officials of the zoo in charge of the orchid house, however, say that the botanical garden has a rich collection of different orchid species. Pavitra Mohan Mishra, caretaker of the orchid house, said, “Most of the varieties of the species are from different parts of the country; some of the popular orchid plants, however, are from countries such as Mexico, the US, Indonesia, Myanmar and nations in southeast Asia. It needs a lot of care to grow the orchids here. We have created a suitable environment for them due to which most of the plants are in full bloom during the season that continues for two-three months in a year.”
Zoo officials admit that many researchers and students from universities and colleges visit the house to know about orchids. “During January to April many tourists visit the orchid house as most of the plants bloom during that period. Apart from tourists, research students regularly visit the house to study about orchids and analyse their flowering patterns,” Mishra added.
Whatever the number of varieties of orchids available in the house, for visitors, who get a glimpse of all the colourful flower-bearing plants under one roof, it is often a pleasant experience. “There are many varieties of orchids which are really very beautiful. I often think to rear orchid plants in my house, but the climatic condition of the state makes me believe that they won’t grow here. Dendrobium hybrids are available in the markets, so I have seen them, but here in the orchid house there are many other varieties of orchid flowers which we rarely see,” said, Animita Mohanty, a visitor.
Orchids are one of the most attractive and interesting of all flowering plants found in the country. About 1340 species in 186 genera have been documented in India. Orchids are highly climate-sensitive plants and most of them have an aerial mode of living, often with restricted ranges.
There are 26,049 orchid species across 880 genera, recorded in the world. It is one of the largest families of flowering plants apart from the man-made hybrids coming from across the world. 133 species of orchids have been recorded in Orissa in the hill forests of Similipal, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Kandhamal, Koraput, Rayagada and Malkangiri.
