Out Of The Common… A Rare Sight Flower Bloomed After 124 Years: Liparis Pygmaea
A rare species of Orchid flowers bloomed in Uttrakhand’s Chamoli after 124 years.
Uttarakhand, Dehradun:
A rare and out of the ordinary species of orchid flower named as ‘Liparis pygmaea’ has been recently found blooming on the land of Uttrakhand’s Chamoli district. The flower was first noticed by Range Office Harsh Negi and Junior Research fellow Manoj Singh, after witnessing the flower, they took it for sampling.
Forest Research Institute’s (Dehradun) research papers were also published in a distinguished French Journal Richardiana on July 30. As per the research published in the journal, the flower was first seen in Western Himalayas. The glimpse of the flower was seen in Uttrakhand’s Chamoli district at a height of 3,800 metres on Saptkund track. Earlier, the same flower was seen in Sikkim and Western Bengal.
It is being told that, the flower was found two months ago, after which it was send to the Pune situated Botanical Survey of India for research purposes.
After the BSI confirmed, the flower as ‘Liparis pygmaea,’ the research was then sent to be published in the French Journal. Significantly two officers from the Uttarakhand Forest Department confirmed the flower blooming in June.
Dr. Jalal says that, “Belonging to a rare species this flower grows upto 5 cm in the month of June and was seen for the first time in Western Himalayas. Before this, the Orchid was found in Sikkim in 1877-1892 and Western Bengal in 1896.”
He also added that, “It’s a matter of pride that this rare beautiful flower blossomed after a century and is a challenge also because we must take step towards the conservation of Himalayas.”
Among 1250 species 250 are found in Uttarakhand on a height of 3100-3900 metres in upper Himalayan area.
According to the research paper ‘Liparis pygmaea’ has almost 320 species among which 48 species are found in India. Among 48 species 10 are found in Western Himalayas.