Respected Rawat sir This is a nice and very controversial question. It is actually not very certain how many orchids are there in wild, infact i am sure that even for Asteraceae the diversity in not know. All are speculation. Yes Asteraceae is assumed to be the largest family and Orchid could be second largest. I have some reference where orchid diversity is estimated to be 36000 but I also have other references which shows a figure of around 26,000. Actually I believe none of the two figures are exact for either of the family, but I do hope Asteraceae should have greater species than Orchids. Please also remember that the number of non-naturally growing orchids (hybrids) are estimated to be around 150,000. Secondly the rate of new species described in Orchidaceae seems to be higher than from Orchidaceae, but yes, my information are biased towards Orchids. Its like asking a Nikon fan which camera is best and they say Nikon and if you ask a Canon lover they say Canon. So dont worry sir, number is not so important. Regards Pankaj
On Tue, Oct 1, 2013 at 5:30 PM, D.S Rawat <[email protected]> wrote: > Good introduction of Orchidaceae with keys to subfamilies Pankaj Ji. > > I have a humble query here about the diversity of the family. While teaching > Orchidaceae to students I always mention that it is second largest family in > the world (after Asteraceae) with 925 genera/ 27135 species as per The Plant > List 2010. The other sources also mention number of genera and species as > 880/22075 (APweb), 750-800/20000=25000 (Takhtajan 2009) etc. As I saw the > number mentioned by you (36000spp) I felt it essential to correct my data. > Please mention the source so that I may update my notes. Is this number for > naturally occurring species? > > DSRawat Pantnagar > > > On Tuesday, October 1, 2013 7:03:36 AM UTC+5:30, Dr Pankaj Kumar wrote: >> >> Orchidaceae family is the biggest among the flowering plants comprising of >> nearly 36,000 species spread across the world from hot tropics to the >> arctics. They can be identified by their unique third petal which is >> modified in extraordinary structures to attract pollinations; androecium and >> gynoecium which is fused to form a gynostemium; anther which is modified to >> form waxy or powdery pollinia apart from velamnous roots. >> >> Family Orchidaceae is grouped into 5 subfamilies namely: >> Apostasioideae >> Vanilloideae >> Cypripedioideae >> Orchidoideae >> Epidendroideae >> >> Keys for subfamilies (Barretto et al. 2011: Orchids of Hong Kong) >> >> 1. Stamens 2 or 3 >> ............................................................. 2 >> Stamen solitary >> ............................................................ 3 >> 2. Flowers actinomorphic or sub-regular; >> lateral sepals free; lip petal-like, sometimes >> broader; column fused only at the base of the >> filaments; anthers 2 or 3, erect above lip; >> stigma terminal >> .........................................APOSTASIOIDEAE >> Flowers zygomorphic; lateral sepals >> usually fused almost to the apex; >> lip usually deeply saccate or >> urn-shaped; column with 2 lateral >> anthers and a terminal, sheild >> shaped staminode; stigma >> ventral, stalked ............................................... >> CYPRIPEDIOIDEAE >> 3. Plant usually terrestrial, growing >> from tubers or a horizontal fleshy >> rhizome; pollinia segmented, >> comprised of massulae, or mealy .............. ORCHIDOIDEAE >> Plants usually epiphytic or lithophytic, >> ocassionally terrestrial or liana-like, >> usually growing from cylindrical stems >> or pseudobulbs borne on woody or >> tough rhizomes; pollinia mealy or >> hard, often attached by a stalk >> to a sticky viscidium ........................................... 4 >> 4. Plants vinous (or terrestrial); >> stem cylindrical, never with >> pseudobulbs; pollinia 2 powdery, >> arranged in monads or tetrads, lacking >> stipes and distinct viscidium ......................... VANILLOIDEAE >> Plant epiphytic, lithophytic or >> ocassionally terrestrial; stems >> cylindrical and/or with pseudobulbs; >> pollinia 2, 4, 6, 8, usually hard, rarely >> sectile, often attached by 1 or 2 stipes >> to 1 or 2 distinct viscidia ................................. >> EPIDENDROIDEAE >> >> >> >> >> -- >> *********************************************************** >> Pankaj Kumar, Ph.D. >> IUCN-SSC Orchid Specialist Group Asia >> >> Office: >> Conservation Officer >> Orchid Conservation Section >> Flora Conservation Department >> Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) Corporation >> Lam Kam Road, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong. >> Residence: >> 151, 1st Floor, Tai Om Tsuen >> Lam Tsuen, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong. >> >> email: [email protected]; [email protected] >> Phone: +852 2483 7128 (office - 8:30am to 5:00pm); +852 9436 6251 >> (mobile). Fax: +852 2483 7194 >> >> >> -- >> *********************************************************** >> Pankaj Kumar, Ph.D. >> IUCN-SSC Orchid Specialist Group Asia >> >> Office: >> Conservation Officer >> Orchid Conservation Section >> Flora Conservation Department >> Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) Corporation >> Lam Kam Road, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong. >> Residence: >> 151, 1st Floor, Tai Om Tsuen >> Lam Tsuen, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong. >> >> email: [email protected]; [email protected] >> >> Phone: +852 2483 7128 (office - 8:30am to 5:00pm); +852 9436 6251 >> (mobile). Fax: +852 2483 7194 > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "efloraofindia" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- *********************************************************** Pankaj Kumar, Ph.D. IUCN-SSC Orchid Specialist Group Asia Office: Conservation Officer Orchid Conservation Section Flora Conservation Department Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) Corporation Lam Kam Road, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong. Residence: 151, 1st Floor, Tai Om Tsuen Lam Tsuen, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong. email: [email protected]; [email protected] Phone: +852 2483 7128 (office - 8:30am to 5:00pm); +852 9436 6251 (mobile). Fax: +852 2483 7194 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "efloraofindia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/indiantreepix. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
