Abstract
Nepal has a biogeographically unique location, which results in a high diversity of vegetation in both north south and east west directions. Here we aim to determine the distribution patterns of the largest plant family in Nepal, the Orchidaceae.
There are 476 orchid taxa known from Nepal, belonging to 107 genera, 454 species, and 22 infrageneric taxa. We found that out of six floristic regions, the East Asiatic floristic region (EAFR) displays the highest number of species (275 species, 58% of all species and infrageneric taxa) followed by the Indo-Chinese floristic region (ICFR; 261 species, 55%) and the Malesian floristic region (MFR; 78 species, 18%).
In total, 118 species (25%) are endemic to the Himalayan region and 21 species are endemic to Nepal. Krober's percentage similarity showed that the EAFR and ICFR have the highest percentage similarity (87%) followed by the MFR and ICFR (62%).
In total, 92 species were used for medicinal purposes and 6 as food plants in Nepal. We conclude that Nepal is rich in orchid flora and the highest percentage of orchids originates from the EAFR.