Conservation of orchids the gems of the tropics

Abstract

Most tropical orchids originate from tropical rain forests with complex ecosystems, making them one of the most endangered group of plants. Many countries have set regulations to protect their orchids, however not all of them are proven effective to prevent the loss of orchid species in the wild. Although more than 100,000 hybrid orchids have been produced over the past 200 years, orchid seekers never cease to look for new undescribed species. On a global scale, efforts were made to ensure that international trade in flora and fauna including orchids does not threaten the survival of the species. In situ conservation efforts for orchids are ideally done within protected areas in their natural habitat, unfortunately, not all protected areas are well managed. This highlights the importance of ex situ conservation in botanical gardens or other orchid repositories. Conservation of seeds, pollen or tissue have thus far been conducted in laboratories by many institutes.