Status of Breeding in Orchids for Improvement - A Review

Orchids are the royalty among flower crops. They exhibit an incredible range of diversity in size, shape and colour of flowers. They are valued as cut flowers and as potted plants. Orchid flowers are famous for their long lasting characteristics and bewitching beauty. Orchids belong to family Orchidaceae, which is the most highly evolved among monocotyledons with over 800 genera and 35, 000 species and over 74, 400 natural and man made registered hybrids. Majority of the cultivated orchids are native of tropical climates and are found in abundance in India in the states of Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Karnataka, Sikkim and Kerala. Kalimpong, Thiruvananthapuram, Yercaud and almost all the coastal areas of India are the places most suitable for the cultivation of orchids.