Karnataka's first wild orchidarium to come up at Kali Tiger Reserve

HUBBALLI: In an effort to conserve the wild orchid varieties of Karnataka, the forest department is all set to establish an orchidarium in Kali Tiger Reserve (KTR) of Uttara Kannada district. The orchidarium is being constructed at Nujji vilage of Joida (Supa) taluk of the district and soon, it will be open for nature enthusiasts and visitors.

The building work has been completed and about 40 varieties of wild orchids that are found in KTR are being grown in the orchidarium. In the coming days, most of the orchid varieties found in the Western Ghats will be added, said Sachin Anil Punekar, Conservation Biologist and Founder of Biospheres-Ecosphere who has been helping the KRT set up the orchidarium project. The Western Ghats is home for a rich orchid population and a majority of them are found in the Kali Tiger Reserve, especially in the Anshi region of Uttara Kannada district. “Out of 170 orchid species that are found in Karnataka, 80 species are from the Anashi region alone. Nearly 20 wild orchids are endemic to this region only. The orchidarium will act as a rescue and rehab site for wild orchids,” Punekar said.

He added, “Orchids mainly occur in two varieties, epiphytic and terrestrial. Most of the orchids bloom during monsoon and we shall introduce the terrestrial orchids which are seasonal. We are also collecting orchids from other parts of Western Ghats in Karnataka and south India to grow them in the KTR orchidarium.” The KTR has already begun training its frontline staff in identifying the orchids and preservation in case they have fallen in the ground. The staff are made to look for orchids, document them and report to the higher authorities. The new orchidarium is expected to help the researchers who can study orchid varieties at one repository.

Maria Christu Raja, Director, Kali Tiger Reserve, said, “We  believe that the orchidarium will serve as a knowledge centre for ex situ conservation of orchids to students and scientists who study the flora of the Western Ghats.” He added, “For the public, this will introduce them to the world of orchids and their importance. We are currently working on designing an interpretation framework for presenting the information on orchids to the public.”