“That is when I decided I should write to a book on orchids in Assam,” he recalls. To date, it’s arguably the only full-length book in English on Assam orchids. In India, there are 1331 species of orchids, found in the Eastern Himalayas including Northeast region, Western Ghats, and eastern part of western Himalayas. “But the Northeast remains an orchid hotspot (all the seven states) with 72 per cent of total orchids found in India,” says Khyanjeet. “Orchids thrive only in certain climate — yes, they are easy to cultivate, but they are as easy to kill too,” Ankur was told.

Source: Indian Express February 05, 2019 19:07 UTC