A Handbook of the Orchids of Nepal

Nepal is very rich in orchid flora. Orchids are the important natural resources of Nepal and are the precious jewels of the nature. Due to wide climatic variations in Nepal orchid flora are very much diversified and well flowering plants with about 25,000 species in the world, comprise various attractive flowers, not only important for their beauty but also for their use in medicine and trade. The orchid species are included in the Appendix 2 and some in the Appendix I of CITES. Most of the wild orchids of Nepal are under threat, and some are at the verge of extinction. Multiple factors are responsible for the threats to the orchids in Nepal.

The taxonomic researches on Nepalese orchids are continuously carried out and recently many new reports of orchid species in Nepal have been published. There is still need for their detailed systematic investigation and need to conserve them before they become extinct from Nepal. A lot of work has still to be done at the National Herbarium to make the complete collections of the species found in Nepal.. There is a need to publish a list of all the orchids found wild in Nepal for their proper utilization and management. Flora of Nepal on the basis of the herbarium specimens housed in the National Herbarium of Nepal and other international herbaria and the various publications. The book contains list of all orchid species of Nepal with their habit and distribution. Black and white and colour photographs are included in each species. The book will be useful to know the status of the orchid species found in Nepal and also to identify orchid species with the help of photographs.

I am grateful to Dr. Keshab Raj Rajbhandari, former Scientific Officer of this department and a plant taxonomist, for his painstaking efforts to prepare the manuscript. I ;am thankful to Ms. Sajan Dahal, Dambar B.Karki, Dr. Lokesh R. Shakya, Dr. Devendra M.Bajracharya, Bhakta B.Raskoti and K. Maden for their help in the identification of orchid specimens and Dr. Hiroshi Ikeda of Japan and Dr. Mark Watson of U.K. for their encouragement to KRR. I am also thankful to Sanjeev Kumar Rai, Deputy Director-General, Department of Plant Resources, Ramesh Basnet, Chief National Herbarium and Plant Laboratories, Department of Plant Resources and Ganga Datt Bhatt, Assistant Research Officer, National Herbarium and Plant Laboratories, Department of Plant Resources, whose hard effects have resulted in publishing this book. Thanks are due to the Directors and Curators of the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew, Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh and Natural History Museum, London in U.K> and University of Tokyo, Japan for their help to KRR during study visit.

**Contents and Sample Pages**