- NET Web Desk
Sikkim, a smallest Indian Himalayan state, located in the Northeastern region is a home to almost 27% of the nation’s flora, as declared by a study titled ‘Flora of Sikkim – A Pictorial Guide’, released by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI).
Authored by Norbu Sherpa, J.H. Franklin Benjamin, D.K. Agrawala, S.K. Rai and S.S. Dash, the study is 582-page publication.
It consist more than 2,000 photographs of about 1,350 plant species from the State.
The study lists almost 4,912 naturally occurring floras of Sikkim. These flowers cover the beautiful landscape of the tiny Himalayan state.
According to the Hindu report, the publication focuses on 5,068 taxa (including 152 cultivated taxa) along with 1,491 genera and 209 angiosperm families, the naturally occurring flowering plants, incorporated with geography, ecology, vegetation pattern and forest types of Sikkim.
The publication details 532 wild orchid species (more than 40% of all orchid species found in India), 36 species of rhododendron and 20 species of oak, more than 30 species of high value medicinal plants, among other species.
Part of the Kanchenjunga biosphere landscape, the state incorporates of different altitudinal ecosystems, that provide an opportunity for herbs and trees to grow and thrive.
