The rarest species of Orchid Liparis Pygmaea had only been recorded in Sikkim, West Bengal, Nepal and China till now. This is the first time its existence has been recorded in Western Himalaya region in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district. . The species was found on June 23 in 2020 by the Research Range Officer Harish Negi and JRF Manoj Singh, at an altitude of 3800m, during a trek to Saptakund in Chamoli District.
This species is in the red list of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The team has sent the flower samples to Botanical Survey of India in pune, which confirmed the species and preserved it in Herbarium collection. The findings have now been published in the French journal ‘Richardiana’.
It is a very important development in the study of rare orchid species in Alpine regions of Himalayas.L. Pygmaea is a small terrestrial orchid with beautiful flowers springing on it in the month of June-July. The flowers are deep shade of purple were spotted in the country after a gap of 120 years. The researchers also noted that though no commercial exploitation of the species is known, its habitat faces natural and anthropogenic threats while adding that the extent and quality of its habitat is continuously declining. The fact that it was found to be growing along with medicinal plant Picrorhiza kurroa which is highly exploited further threatens its habitat.
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