Page 659 - e-Book

flowering plants (in terms of species number) in British India which included Myanmar and

Bangladesh. Sir J. D. Hooker (1888 - 1890), described 1600 species from the erstwhile
British India. Hooker (1895) also published an illustrated account of 100 Indian orchid

species. Western ghats includes approximately 300 species and northern western ghats
include 99 species (Satish et al, 2010). In Karnataka approximately 176 species has been

mentioned (Ananda Rao T, 2007 & S.Sridhar). In Western Ghats there are approximately 5
vandas i,e Vanda testaceae Lindl. Reichb., Vanda thwaitesii Hook., Vanda wightt Rchb.f.,

Vanda spathulata (L.) Spreng., vanda tessellata (Roxb) Hook. ex. G. Don.

As the informational sources, the work on Vanda wightii Rchb.f. reported from India
and Sri-Lanka is one among the 40 species of Vandas distributed in the Indo-Malayan region

(Limansela et.al., 2002). It is originally described by Raichenbach.f (1864) based on Robert

Wight’s collection from Vaulyar and Palghatcherry (1849) and Thwaite’s collection from Sri
Lanka (Satheeshkumar et al., 2006). It is supposed to be extinct as it has not been re-sighted

in the wild ever since Wight’s collection (Limansela et al., 2002). Later during 2000-02
periods the species is re-collected from Belthangady and Subramanya in Dakshina Kannada

district of Karnataka; Nidiyanga in Kannur and Melattur near Palakkad district of Kerala
(Satheeshkumar et al., 2004). The species is described as distributed in narrow pockets with

restricted numbers and later under section 38 of the Biological Diversity Act 2002, the

Central Government notified that Vanda wightii is on the verge of extinction and
prohibited/regulated collection along with other 25 plant species from Western Ghats

(Ministry on Environment and Forests, Government of India, 2009). The ministry also called
for studies on all aspects of the notified species for holistic understanding and propagation of

the species for the purpose of in situ and ex situ conservation and rehabilitation. In Karnataka
Vanda wightii distributed in Subrmanyam, Beltangdi, Manglapuram (Satish et al,2006).

According to S.K.Barik, (2018) Orchidaceae family is highest threatened in India

which is 644 species. Recently, the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG) of
Species Survival Commission developed an assessment methodology for the medicinal plants

known as CAMP (Conservation Assessment and Management Prioritization), and

successfully assigned threat status to several taxa in India. In addition, Environmental
Information System (ENVIS) of Ministry of Environment. Forests and Climate Change

(MoEF & CC), State Biodiversity Boards and IUCN Red List of Threatened Species have
been identifying and assigning threat status to species following different approaches. The

trade of species mentioned in the appendices of the Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is prohibited, and the plant species

649