DISTRIBUTION PATTERN, SURVIVAL THREATS AND CONSERVATION OF 'ASTAVARGA' ORCHIDS IN HIMACHAL PRADESH, NORTHWEST HIMALAYA Ravi Kant 1 *, Jagdeep Verma 1 and Kranti Thakur 2 1 Department of Botany, Shoolini Institute of Life Sciences and Business Management, Solan - 173 212 (H.P.), India. 2 Department of Botany, Singhania University, Pacheri Bari - 333 515 (Rajsthan), India. Abstract All of the 4 orchid species used in 'Astavarga' group of Ayurvedic medicine, Habenaria edgeworthii Hook. f. ex Collett, H. intermedia D. Don, Malaxis acuminata D. Don and M. muscifera (Lindl.) Ktze. occur in Himachal Pradesh. These are distributed in temperate climates between 1800-2800 m altitudes and bloom during monsoon months. Illegal collection of the plant parts, shrinkage of natural habitats under the duress of expanding urbanization and grazing are main threats faced by orchid population in the state. Both in situ and ex situ conservation strategies are immediately required to ensure sustainable utilization of these therapeutically important herbs. Key words : 'Astavarga' orchids, distribution, Himachal Pradesh, conservation. Plant Archives Vol. 12 No. 1, 2012 pp. 165-168 ISSN 0972-5210 Introduction Orchids belong to one of the largest and highly evolved families of angiosperms called Orchidaceae. The family, well known for several highly acclaimed ornamental hybrids includes nearly 800 genera and 25,000 species distributed all over the world (Chug et al., 2009). From ancient times orchids are being used in the traditional systems of medicine like Ayurveda, Siddha, Yunani, Homeopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) etc. Chinese described Bletilla striata and a Dendrobium species in Materia Medica of Shen-nung (28 th Century B. C.) and in many other Chinese writings orchids symbolize things such as friendship, perfection, numerous progeny, noble and elegant (Reinikka, 1995). In India, there are nearly 1600 species which constitute about 9% of the total flora (Medhi and Chakrabarti, 2009). Therapeutic importance of Indian orchids in treating ailments like nervous disorders (Cymbidium elegans, Cypripedium pubescens), hypertension and allergy (Gastrodia elata), rheumatism (Acampe papillosa), burns ( Coelogyne punctulata ), dermal problems (Dendrobium monticola), tuberculosis (Coelogyne henryi, Malaxis acuminata) and malignancy (Vanda testacea) is well documented in literature (Lawler, 1984 and Handa, 1986). In Ayurveda, a group of 8 medicinal plants called 'Astavarga' is used in the preparation of different types of rejuvenating tonics including 'Chyavanprash' and 4 of these (Habenaria edgeworthii, H. Intermedia, Malaxis acuminata, M. muscifera) are orchids. The therapeutic importance of orchids is due to presence of phytochemical contents such as alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids etc (Hossain, 2011); they are however, mainly used as nutraceuticals because the active principles responsible for their medicinal properties are yet to be identified with further accuracy. Himachal Pradesh, a mountainous Indian state in the Northwest Himalaya, is rich in orchid resources; about 78 species (Vij et al., 2011) including many of ornamental (Aerides multiflora, Calanthe sp., Rhynchostylis retusa, Vanda cristata, etc.) and therapeutic (Dactylorhiza hatagirea, Eulophia dabia, Habenaria edgeworthii, H. intermedia, Malaxis acuminata, M. muscifera, Satyrium nepalense, Vanda testacea, etc.) importance occur here. Present communication deals with 4 of such therapeutically important orchids that constitute the integral part of "Astavarga" herbs. Materials and Methods Information about the orchid species of 'Astavarga' group was collected from literature (Dey, 1982 and Chauhan, 1990). Periodic field surveys were conducted in Himachal Pradesh (2008-2011) to locate these species. These were identified with the help of standard Floras (Duthie, 1906; Deva and Naithani, 1986) and notes were *Author for correspondence- E-mail: ravi.puchd@gmail.com