Volume 26, Issue 78, July - December, 2025

Didymoplexis pallens (Orchidaceae) in Chintamoni Kar Bird Sanctuary: A reappraisal of its occurrence and distribution in West Bengal, India

Soumyajit Chowdhury^♦

Dept of Zoology, MUC Women’s College, Burdwan, West Bengal, India

^♦Corresponding Author
Dept of Zoology, MUC Women’s College, Burdwan, West Bengal, India;

ABSTRACT

Didymoplexis pallens Griffith, one of the most unique and rarely observed terrestrial, leafless and mycoheterotrophic orchids was recorded from the Chintamoni Kar Bird Sanctuary in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, India on 12 June, 2018. Three plants were recorded on the forest floor of the sanctuary, amidst dense undergrowth with scattered bamboo thickets nearby. Each plant was found to have small white terminal flowers, with a single one bearing fruit bodies (capsules) also. This is the primary report of the occurrence of the species from the sanctuary; and compared to its previous occasional reports from the state, the species have been found to extend its distribution southwards into the greater deltaic part of Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve. D. pallens and its associated habitats are highly threatened due to rapid suburban sprawl around Kolkata, resulting in habitat modification to a greater extent.

Keywords: Chintamoni Kar Bird Sanctuary; Didymoplexis pallens; Mycoheterotroph; Orchid; West Bengal

Species, 2025, 26(78), e38s3171

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v26i78.e38s3171

Published: 18 August 2025