Category : Environment Conservation | Location : National | Posted on 2022-06-24 02:07:14
Undertaking extensive field study from August 2015 to 2017 at different locations in Goa, including protected forests, Jalal found 67 species of orchids belonging to 29 genera of which 41 are epiphytic, growing on other plants merely for physical support, and generally not causing any harm to the host plant, and 26 are terrestrial, growing on the ground.
Among these orchid diversity, his study has revealed that 23 species are strictly endemic to the Western Ghats, two endemic to Peninsular India and three endemic to the country.
Blooming annually under favourable conditions of light temperature and humidity, these perennial plants are found in terrestrial and epiphytic forms and play an important ecological role.
The study has indicated that the high richness zone is dominated by moist deciduous forest interspersed with the semi-evergreen forests and plateaus, favourable for thriving orchid diversity in Goa. Many endemic species are restricted to evergreen and semi-evergreen forest habitat, pointing towards high habitat-specificity and the ecological importance of these habitats.
