Global orchid production has been active in tropical and subtropical countries, many of which have automated and efficiently managed large greenhouses. The most important exported potted orchid in the trade at present is Phalaenopsis, which has tremendous breeding and micropropagation technology achievements in several countries, such as Belgium, The Netherlands, Taiwan, and Thailand. Another reason for its popularity is the ease of its controlled flower induction for scheduled and year-around production. Cut orchids such as Cymbidium, Dendrobium, Oncidium, and Vanda are important cut flowers worldwide. Orchids are now quite popular in the global market, partly due to their long shelf-life, diverse colors, and other desirable traits pursued by consumers, depending on the location or culture. European Union (EU) and the United States are the most important countries or areas for marketing of assortments of orchid products. New markets for orchids are increasing annually.

As of the 2000s, Cymbidium was one of the most popular orchids, cultivated commercially for horticultural utilities like cut flowers, potted plants, medicines, etc., and is a valuable genetic resource. These orchids are grown in cooler climates at higher elevation and are originated from tropical and sub-tropical Asia (De et al., 2019). Cymbidiums were rated the highest in European countries, with major international markets at Singapore, Japan, and Dutch. In Singapore markets, Cymbidium orchids imported from The Netherlands were valued at US$11.18 per stem—while those from New Zealand were at US$3.33 per stem in Japan—and fetched the highest value of about 331 Euro cents per stem at a Dutch auction during 2003–2007 (De et al., 2019). Cymbidium has also marked its zone in the favorable hill ecology of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, and Darjeeling, particularly the northeastern hill states of India. More than 250 Cymbidium hybrids are cultivated commercially in East Sikkim, covering an area of 25 ha and producing 5 lakhs spikes per year. This region has been announced as Agri-Export Zone of Cymbidium orchids in India.

Phalaenopsis orchid holds the largest market share in the global orchid market with value at US$1,293.8 million in 2020 (De et al., 2019). Phalaenopsis is the second most known potted flowering plant and cut flower across the globe, which are commercially cultivated in Japan, The Netherlands, Taiwan, Germany, and the US. These orchids are easy to grow, have varieties of hues, forms, and sizes, have long vase life, and is available throughout the year. Taiwanese Phalaenopsis orchids were valued at US$13 million during 2006 in the US market, having a worldwide turnover value of US$35.4 million.

Dendrobium accounts for the majority of orchid cut flower trade, besides being the second largest genus of Orchidaceae family. Dendrobiums of unique variations are grown throughout the world. Thailand is the major grower and largest exporter of Dendrobium orchids, accounting for 22% of supplies to European nations (De et al., 2019). Other genera grown in Thailand for global trade includes Vanda, Mokana, Oncidium, Cattleya, and Ascocenda.

Recently, Cattleya has taken center stage with high growth rate in the global orchid market and predicted expectancy of 5.6% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) during the forecast period of 2021–2027. Big showy blooms and ease of growth make Cattleya cultivation incredibly rewarding. The popularity of Cattleya in decorative ornaments has been attributed to boost its growth. The popularity of cattleyas can be estimated from the fact that around two million Cattleya flowers are sold annually in the US market at US$ 4.89 per unit (Pant et al., 2020). Singapore had started with orchid currency way back in 1967, with Cattleya being depicted on $100 currency against a Singapore waterfront (Kirti et al., 2012). In Thailand, around 2.7% of the total orchid export is shared by Cattleya orchids for which Japan and Singapore are the major importers (De et al., 2019). Vanda, grown throughout the Australasia region, is also well known among global traders, collectors, and hobbyists.

According to data from International Trade Centre 2020, the import of cut orchids was valued at $214 million in 2019. The cut orchid import value faced an average of 1.4% annual decline over the past 5 years. Japan is known to be the world’s largest importer of cut orchids. In 2019, Japan imported $62.4 million worth of cut orchids, accounting for 29.2% of the global import value. Next to Japan, the United States stands in second place as the largest importer of cut orchids worth $22.9 million, which is 10.7% of the global import value. Other major cut orchid importers are Italy, China, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Singapore, and Australia, respectively. The Japanese market receives the largest cut orchids worth $28.9 million from Taiwan, which accounts for 46.3% of all Japan imports. Another 32.1% of all Japanese cut orchids import worth $20.0 million came from Thailand, serving as the second largest source. Other major exporters to the Japanese market in 2019 were Vietnam, New Zealand, Malaysia, China, South Korea, Singapore, and Australia. Meanwhile, in the US market, Thailand was the major exporter of cut orchids at $13.0 million, holding a 57.0% share of all US imports. The second largest exporter was The Netherlands with a value at $6.7 million or 29.5% of all US imports, with a 12.3% decline from 2018 to 2019. Other important exporters to the US market were New Zealand, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Taiwan.

The demand for orchid cut flowers is increasing, particularly in regions such as Europe, North America, and Japan. International trade is restricted to prevent the exploitation of wild populations (Hinsley et al., 2017). The largest importing countries are the United States, Germany, and The Netherlands.

Orchids are known for the variability of ornamental traits based on geographical location. Hence, export of certain types of orchid in a commercial scale would be from the respective favorable locations to another where it is preferred and is in demand. The Netherlands and New Zealand are well known for their Cymbidium; The Netherlands and Taiwan for Phalaenopsis; Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand for Dendrobium and Mokara; and Taiwan and Thailand for Oncidium and Vanda. The Netherlands was the world’s largest cut orchid exporter, with an export value of $83.8 million in 2019, a 37.6% share of the total global export value, and a 10.3% decline over 2018. The second largest cut orchid exporter was Thailand, having a value worth $69.9 million, with a 31.3% market share and a 2.5% decline over 2018. Taiwan was the third largest cut orchid exporter at $36.5 million, with a 16.3% market share and a 27.6% growth over 2018. Other exporters were Singapore, New Zealand, Vietnam, China, Malaysia, South Korea, and Belarus. Global trade data shows Thailand to be exporting the largest quantity of cut orchids worldwide at 23,089 tons, while The Netherlands exported 4,328 tons, and Taiwan exported 2,093 tons.

Thailand, The Netherlands, and Taiwan are among the largest exporters of orchid cut flowers. These countries have developed extensive cultivation systems to meet the global demand (Sharma, 2017). Biotechnology has played a crucial role in improving production efficiency and disease resistance.

Apart from the commercially popular species, wild orchid trading has also been reported, which are often illegally harvested. This practice dates back to the Victorian era, wherein numerous tropical orchids were collected for export to Europe (Sanders, 2017). There was widespread practice of wild orchid trades to Europe, the USA, and Japan until the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) was established during the 1970s (Cribb et al., 2003; Koopowitz et al., 2003). Even then, this trade of wild plants continued with the demand from domestic (Flores-Palacios and Valencia-Diaz, 2007), regional (Phelps and Webb, 2015), and professional collectors (Hinsley et al., 2015; Phelps, 2015). Meanwhile, many countries formally document commercial trade in wild plants, like Cambodia (Hinsley, 2011), China (Shepherd et al., 2007; Gale et al., 2014), Indonesia, Vietnam (Hinsley et al., 2016), Thailand, Myanmar, Lao (Schuiteman, 2013; Phelps and Webb, 2015), Nepal (Subedi et al., 2013), Mexico (Flores-Palacios and Valencia-Diaz, 2007), Peru (Cribb, 2005), Costa Rica, Madagascar, and Malaysia.

ICAR-NRC for Orchids, Sikkim, carried out several explorations to different parts of the country for the collection and conservation of valuable orchid germplasm since 1996. Structured and well-planned explorations were conducted in the orchid-rich biodiversity hotspots. The germplasm collections were made as plantlets, tubers, capsules fruits, seeds, and floral parts. They were acclimatized and conserved in orchidariums and used in breeding programs. To date, ICAR-NRC for Orchids has collected and preserved the germplasm of ~400 species from across the country. Among the collections, 83 species are rare, endangered, and threatened (RET), and 52 species are of medicinal interest. The RET collections include Dendrobium draconis, D. ruckeri, D. praecinctum, Diplomeris hirsuta, Ornithochilus difformis, Paphiopedilum fairrieanum, P. venustum, P. villosum, P. hirsutissimum, P. spicerianum, Renanthera imscootiana (red vanda), Satyrium nepalense, Taeniophyllum retrospiculatum, Vanda coerulea (blue Vanda), Zeuxine flava, and Z. reflexa. The collected orchid germplasm is being utilized successfully in the breeding program to develop new varieties and hybrids. The other research institutes, universities, and regional research organizations are maintaining their collections in their respective locations. Collection of the precious orchid germplasm will be more focused on rare, endangered, and threatened (RET) species, which could be helpful for the identification of trait-specific germplasm and can be saved/conserve for future needs (Ram Pal et al., 2022).

To counter the mounting dangers to orchids, various conservation projects have been launched at the global, national, and local levels. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List examines orchid conservation status and identifies extinction-risk species (Fay et al., 2015). Many orchids are also protected by the Convention on International Commerce in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which governs international commerce to prevent overexploitation (Hinsley et al., 2017).

Protected areas and botanical gardens play an important role in orchid conservation by preserving both in situ and ex situ populations. Orchid restoration initiatives have been successfully implemented in a variety of places (Cribb et al., 2003). Furthermore, breakthroughs in biotechnology, like as micropropagation and cryopreservation, have improved the ability to protect rare and endangered orchid species (Chen et al., 2006).

Among the factors stated above, illegal trade may be considered the biggest threat to orchid population (Chaudhary, 2021). This practice encourages local indiscriminate collection due to demand and requirements for food or medicine. Illegal and unsustainable orchid collection is reported to have a significant impact on species like Cattleya, Laelia, Renanthera, and some slipper orchids, while some orchids have been removed from the wild to the point of extinction. However, most of the collections are not necessarily for horticulture commercial purposes and do not impose much threat (Cribb et al., 2003; Fay et al., 2015). In order to control illegal smuggling, all orchids were placed on the appendices of CITES (Cribb et al., 2003). However, the illegal trade across international border continues without permits under CITES (Fay et al., 2015; Hinsley et al., 2018). Cases of non-systematic documentation of orchid trade are reported for traditional medicines in East Asia, food in the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East (Kreziou et al., 2016; de Boer et al., 2017), and chikanda in South-Eastern Africa (Veldman et al., 2014).

Measures are being taken during the course of time in order to check illegal trade. Proper regulation and documentation of trade dynamics, strengthening legal trade, and raising the profile of orchid trade among policy makers, conservationists, and the public have been suggested (Hinsley et al., 2018). Efforts are likewise being made to check on cases of non-compliance with CITES regulations (Ghorbani et al., 2014; Hinsley et al., 2017). Other measures include the development of DNA-based technology to identify orchid species incorporation in food stuffs, making it feasible for creating records (de Boer et al., 2017). On the contrary, documentation of orchid species unintentionally on CITES has become a limiting factor for the collection of scientific studies and conservation research (Roberts and Solow, 2008).

The illegal trade in wild orchids is a multibillion-dollar business fueled by collectors, traditional medicine practitioners, and horticulture hobbyists (Hinsley et al., 2017). Many orchid species, including rare and endemic types, are illegally transported across borders, breaking CITES and national conservation laws (Phelps et al., 2015).

Unregulated harvesting has a negative impact on wild populations, causing habitat damage and species decrease. Orchids rely on certain mycorrhizal fungus for germination, making it difficult to repopulate once populations have been depleted in their natural environments (Swarts and Dixon, 2009a). This indiscriminate harvest jeopardizes biodiversity and disrupts environmental equilibrium.

Although international conventions like CITES govern orchid commerce, enforcement is challenging because of weak legal frameworks and limited resources (Fay, 2016). Smuggling networks take advantage of regulatory gaps, frequently mislabeling species or laundering wild orchids through legitimate commerce channels (Ghorbani et al., 2014).

Orchids play important roles in ecosystem health and resilience but are deeply impacted by habitat loss and climate change. The rapidly declining number of orchid species in the wild is driven by the continuous habitat loss due to various reasons—most significantly, climate change (Wraith and Pickering, 2018; Wraith et al., 2020; Liu et al., 2010; Seaton et al., 2013). The slipper orchids were reportedly assessed for the Global Red List recently due to habitat destruction and unprecedented collection (Fay and Rankou, 2016; Wang et al., 2021). Other reasons for habitat loss include deforestation, change in land use, reproduction complexity, and relying on other organisms for life cycle (Swarts and Dixon, 2009a; Hinsley et al., 2018). This is triggering latitudinal and altitudinal shifts of species around the globe. Apart from the slipper orchids, nearly 56.5% of orchid species are under threat of extinction, and action should be taken urgently to conserve them. There is a report that two-thirds of habitats of 25 hotspots of biodiversity has been lost, bringing about a higher risk of extinction of many species (Brooks et al., 2002). In a different incidence, drastic change was observed in the species composition of orchids in a Mediterranean island as a result of change in land use (Vogt-Schilb et al., 2016). Habitat loss is also triggering latitudinal and longitudinal shifts of species around the globe.

The conservation of orchids involves protecting the natural habitat of the species, encouraging orchid biodiversity, and ensuring the survival of the rare species of orchids. Anthropogenic activities and natural calamities, disappearance of habitats, and large-scale illegal trade are the causes that may lead to the risk for the extinction of thousands of rare and endemic species in protected areas and sanctuaries. Hence, in situ conservation should also be supplemented with appropriate ex situ conservation measures. The in situ conservation of species is most desirable for orchids as it ensures their natural growth, proliferation, and perpetuation, which allow the process of evolution to continue as part of the natural ecosystem. The protection of natural habitats by establishing sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, and forest reserves; the salvation of plants from degraded and threatened habitats and their culture in orchidaria, botanical gardens, and other rescue centers; and the propagation of threatened plants through in vivo/in vitro approaches and their re-introduction into well-protected habitats are among other measures suggested for orchid conservation. The most effective approach to the in situ conservation of orchid species takes into account the life history traits of the species and the roles of mycorrhizal fungi and pollinators.

Conservation through in situ comprises the protection of species in its natural habitat. This approach focuses on overall habitat protection and ensures the conservation of species and its associated biota. In India, protected areas (PA) in the form of national parks and sanctuaries are declared under Wildlife (Protection) Act, with a main focus on faunal wealth but may incidentally include orchid habitats also. In situ areas may not entirely serve the purpose of orchid conservation but definitely assist in the process. Establishing orchid sanctuaries is a focused approach. A few have been attempted in the states of Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. A biosphere belt with trans boundaries is another way of conservation of natural habitat for orchids and epiphytes (Shashidhar, 2013). Biosphere reserves are adaptable protected areas that maintain the globally recognized genetic diversity in the representative environment. Under the “Man and Biosphere” (MAB) initiative, UNESCO first proposed the creation of a biosphere reserve in 1971. In 1979, the world’s first biosphere reserve was created. There are currently 564 biosphere reserves established in 109 nations worldwide (De and Singh, 2019).

India has an intricate protective area network (PAN) comprising 86 national parks and 480 wildlife sanctuaries covering approximately 4.66% of the total geographical area of the country and is expected to further expand in the future (Ram et al., 2011). This PAN protects the species that are present in those forests. Unfortunately, many important and endangered orchid species lie outside the PAN (viz., Paphiopedilum druryi in Aghasthymalai hills of Kerala, Vanda coerulea in Meghalaya, Paphiopedilum wardii and P. spicerianum in Assam, and Renanthera imscootiana in Arunachal Pradesh). At present, the orchids also figure prominently in the Red Data Book prepared by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The entire family has been included in Appendix-II of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), of which the international trade is strictly controlled and monitored (Pant, 2013). There are some species, such as Liparis olivacea, which have already been extinct from the wild (Subedi, 2011). A few state governments like Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Karnataka, and West Bengal have designated the orchid-rich habitats as “orchid sanctuaries” under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (amended in 1992). Any attempt to remove orchids from their natural habitat should be considered poaching or smuggling. Liu et al. (2020) found that approximately 52.2% of 1,582 orchid species have been discovered in at least one national nature reserve, and approximately 26% (412 species) have been found in three or more national nature reserves; these estimates are generally in agreement with those of Qin et al. (2012).

The ex situ method is the preservation of germplasm outside the natural habitat (De and Pathak, 2018). Some orchid conservation organizations have the principal aim of establishing reserves, one being the Orchid Conservation Alliance (OCA), which states that “preservation of natural orchid habitat preserves the orchids, their pollinators, their genetic diversity, and other fauna, as well as the birds, frogs, insects, reptiles, and mammals in the forests where they live” (OCA, 2017). However, this will not in itself be sufficient, given the pressures that orchids face from habitat destruction, unsustainable harvesting, and climate change. Meeting these challenges will, in many cases, also involve a combination of creating new habitats, transplantation, and ex situ conservation in seedbanks and living collections. The Gran Canaria Declaration II on Climate Change and Plant Conservation in 2006 stated that “ex situ collections have a key role to play in securing the conservation of wild plant species as natural resources, as an insurance policy for the future, as a basis for restoration and reintroduction programs, and as support for adaptation of livelihoods to climate change and shifting climate zones”. The ex situ conservation principle refers to off-site selection and storage of genetically representative seeds and, where applicable, somatic tissues, regeneration of plants from the stored material, continued cultivation of species to produce conservation units (Johansen and Rasmussen, 1992; Seaton and Pritchard, 2003), and storage of ecologically competent orchid mycorrhizas.

Plant tissue culture (PTC) is a viable tool for the conservation and micro-propagation of plant germplasm, particularly for plants like orchids, which require a rapid regeneration of their populations (Chugh et al., 2009; Bhattacharyya et al., 2016, 2018; Sahoo et al., 2018), and the conservation of parental characteristics (Bhattacharyya et al., 2017). Moreover, the establishment of in vitro germplasm banks through PTC can save valuable resources such as materials, space, and labor (Singh et al., 2015; Pacheco et al., 2016), conserving the plant species for an indefinite period of time (Reed et al., 2013; Kendon et al., 2017). However, establishing this conservation strategy requires the development of a system of conservation for each species studied (Offord CA, 2017). Asymbiotic seed germination techniques, applied for the conservation of endangered and threatened taxa, have been reported to be useful in the reintroduction of many orchids (Pedroza-Marique et al., 2005; Stewart and Kane, 2006; Deb and Imchen, 2006). Since the population size of endangered orchid Vanda coerulea is steadily declining, asymbiotic seed germination technique was used to increase the population size because orchid seed germination is a slow process (Roy et al., 2011). In vitro-raised seedlings of these orchid species were acclimatized and reintroduced in natural habitats.

Generally, the in vitro storage of cultured propagules could be achieved through two different methods. Firstly, a plant material was subjected to direct storage, where established cultures of protocorms and somatic embryos were transferred to growth chambers with various low temperature and light intensity. The low-temperature storage of orchid callus also proved to be of considerable importance for the preservation of genetic diversity and specific clones (Sivasubramaniam et al., 1987). Similarly, Na and Knodo (1995) reported on the tissue culture shoot primordium method that holds promise for the long-term conservation of the gene resources of the Yunnan threatened orchid Vanda pumila and can be, furthermore, applied to stable, clonal mass propagation of ornamentally important strains after artificial selection.

In the second method, the plant materials were encapsulated by sodium alginate, using Ca(NO₃)₂ as the gelling agent to develop synthetic seeds. These synthetic seeds were subsequently stored at various temperatures, with or without growth retardants. The alginate coat protects the micropropagule and thus has practical application for the germplasm conservation of an elite plant species and exchange of axenic plant materials between laboratories (Hung and Trueman, 2011; Ahmad et al., 2012). Alginate-coated, nonembryogenic micropropagules were relatively inexpensive to produce and easy to handle, transport, and plant. Furthermore, they can be used for cryopreservation via encapsulation dehydration and encapsulation vitrification techniques (Wang et al., 2002). During storage, encapsulated propagules require no transfer to fresh medium, thus reducing the cost of maintaining germplasm in vitro (West et al., 2006).

Furthermore, though attempts have been made to propagate orchid species in vitro using various explants (Anuprabha et al., 2017; Arora et al., 2016; Bhatti et al., 2017; Borah et al., 2015; Kaur et al., 2017) so as to develop effective protocols for in vitro propagation, the data is meager in terms of the size of the orchid family. There is a need for studies on genetic stability to avoid the somaclonal variants and slow growth cultures for longer storage duration to avoid frequent transfers.

The conservation of plant genetic resources for a long term is the necessity of the time, and it has been achieved through an innovative technique known as cryopreservation. It is helpful in preserving the plant germplasm in its original form and is a valuable method by which a plant species which has been threatened to extinction can be preserved for a longer period. This method is most suitable for perennial plants which have long gestation period such as mulberry, apple, mango, rubber tree, etc. By using this technique, the plant material remained in the non-dividing phase and all of the activities, i.e., biochemical and biophysical, were seized when the material is subjected to -196 °C under liquid nitrogen (Kartha, 1985). The movement of molecules is suspended at very low (negative) temperatures, and the liquid phase settled in cells (Vasco, 2002). Biological reactions like respiration and enzymatic series are also suppressed (Benson et al., 1998). The most important application of cryopreservation is germplasm storage and multiplication in a pathogen-free environment which helps in germplasm exchange. It is a simple and cost-effective approach which allows the storage of germplasm accessions for a longer period, making this method suitable for germplasm conservation of orchids and other crop plants. The different explants such as buds, roots, tubers, apical meristems, pollens, somatic and zygotic embryos, and other parts can be stored efficiently and can be used for the regeneration of genetic resources (Bajaj, 1995). After thawing, the stored explant is capable of producing the whole plants through in vitro propagation methods (Engelmann, 1991). In orchid, Thammasiri (2000) reported on the cryopreservation of Thai wild orchid Doritis pulcherrima using vitrification method. The other methods such as encapsulation–dehydration, encapsulation–vitrification, and droplet–vitrification have also been studied and successfully used in orchid species (Sopalun et al., 2010a, b). A large number of orchid species have been conserved through cryopreservation methods, which have been reviewed nicely by Vendrame et al. (2014) (Table 1). The cryopreserved parts such as protocorms and seeds have the ability to develop into normal seedlings (Thammasiri, 2020). Cryopreservation has resulted in good results in terms of regeneration after cryopreservation as Thammasiri (2002) obtained 99%, 95%, 62%, and 85% germination, respectively, in Thai orchid species. Vanilla is another important orchid species conserved using the vitrification process (Gonzalez-Arnao et al., 2020; Hernández-Ramírez et al., 2014).

Biotechnological methods are crucial in creating ornamentals with enhanced floral and “high-value” qualities. They are frequently used to change the color, scent, look, disease resistance, and shelf life of flowers, among other things (Tiwari and Jen Tsung, 2023; Tiwari et al., 2023). With the aid of genetic engineering, the desired characteristics of orchids can be chosen, and the flowering time, color, scent, and vase life can all be controlled. Using the mutant ethylene receptor gene, the first attempts at genetic engineering were made to improve growth and vase life in Oncidium and Odontoglossum orchids (Raffeiner et al., 2009). Since they have shorter vase lives than Phalaenopsis, Oncidium and Odontoglossum are less commercially successful orchids. A flower-specific promoter was used by Raffeiner et al. to create the Arabidopsis ethylene receptor mutant gene etr1-1, which decreased the transgenic orchids’ sensitivity to exogenous ethylene and extended their vase life. Similar to this, P. amabilis’ adaptive response to cold stress was successfully produced through genetic engineering in orchids by inserting the rice gene for the cold-inducible lipid transfer protein (LTP). Gene such as the class 1 Knox DOH1 gene added to change growth and morphology. Their overexpression in Dendrobium under in vitro conditions resulted in aberrant numerous shoot developments and decreased cytokinin content (Yu et al., 2001). Modern disease diagnosis techniques made possible by biotechnological developments have allowed for both laboratory and field detection. Through nucleic acid amplification, a sophisticated chip-based integrated microfluidic system has been created for automated, quick virus detection. By purifying pathogen-specific RNA from the diseased sample, this method was used to detect Cymbidium mosaic virus (CMV), the most common orchid virus (Chang et al., 2013). The biotechnologies of orchids have been totally transformed by recent developments in genetic manipulation techniques, which have also created new opportunities for “hybrid” creation with desired traits. With the development of genetic transformation technologies and the production of transgenic mutants with the desired features, the genetic modification of orchids has seen considerable success (Tiwari et al., 2024).

Orchid molecular biology research has accelerated our understanding of their genetics, evolution, and special characteristics to a great extent. It has also contributed largely in conservation, horticulture, medicine, and trade. Important orchid characteristics such as flower shape, color, flowering period, fragrance, resistance to disease, and medicinal properties have been found by molecular research such as genome sequencing, transcriptomics, and genetic transformation (Zhang et al., 2022; Li et al., 2022)—for example, scientists have been able to identify flower color and shape-controlling genes through the sequencing of more than a dozen orchid genomes. These characteristics are important for scientific evolutionary research as well as for developing new commercial varieties with desired traits (Zhang et al., 2022; Li et al., 2020).