Banking On Orchids

Meghalaya is now home to a first-of-its-kind orchidarium that hopes to attracts locals and tourists alike.

Northeast India, being the bio-diversity hotspot of the country, is home to innumerable orchid species. In fact, the region is counted amongst the eight hottest biodiversity hotspots of the world. That is not surprising as it harbours about 800 orchid species, constituting nearly 70% of the total orchid flora found in the whole of India. According to the date presented by the National Research Centre for Orchids (NRCO), India has about 1,300 species of orchids, out of which 800 are found in Northeast India. And what is more interesting is that out of the 800 total varieties, 300 species are found in Meghalaya. Hence, the geographical advantage and the high concentration of orchids made it possible to establish a first-of-its-kind orchidarium in the State.

Orchids on Display

Located in Upper Shillong, the orchidarium is spread over 6000 square feet and is home to several species of orchids, which are displayed for public viewing. The orchidarium is climate-controlled, so the temperatures inside ranges between 15 and 20o Celsius. ‘The aim of setting up the state-of-the-art orchidarium is to attract eco-tourists travelling to this part of the region every year. It is good that we are channelizing the tourism potential of the State,’ stated Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma.

Albert Chiang, senior scientist at the orchidarium shares, ‘It is a golden opportunity for researchers and other botanists to work on the medicinal values of orchids. Also, there are many more species of orchids that are yet to be discovered from the region. The orchidarium can play its part by giving a big boost to the study of orchids in the region’.