In Assam, a Bihu dancer’s hair is never bare. It carries a spray of small white flowers, spotted pink, dangling like a fox’s tail. That flower is Rhynchostylis retusa — and it is the official state flower of not one, but two Indian states.
MCQ QuestionsENVECO0056
2 Indian States
Official state flower: Assam and Arunachal Pradesh
Rhynchostylis retusa: the Foxtail Orchid, or Kopou Phool of Bihu.
Habit
Epiphyte
Vanda alliance; grows on tree trunks, harms no host.
The Foxtail
100+ flowers
Pendant raceme to 60 cm, white spotted pink-violet.
Conservation
CITES Appendix II
Trade regulated; over-collected for horticulture.
Range
Not Endemic
Spans India, Nepal, Myanmar & more — a common UPSC trap.
Environment & Ecologymcqquestion.com
🌸 Meet the Foxtail Orchid
1. Taxonomy and Shape
- Overview Rhynchostylis retusa (L.) Blume is a flowering orchid in the Vanda alliance, within the family Orchidaceae.
- Habit It is a monopodial epiphyte. It clings to tree trunks with aerial roots and absorbs moisture from the air, without parasitising its host.
- Stem & Leaves It carries a short, stout, creeping stem with up to 12 fleshy leaves. Each leaf tip is notched, or “retuse,” which gives the species its name.
- The Foxtail Its signature feature is a pendant raceme up to 60 cm long. It packs in over 100 white flowers, spotted pink or violet, shaped like a bushy fox’s tail.
2. Where It Grows
- Not Endemic Despite its strong link to North-east India, R. retusa is not endemic to the region — a frequent exam trap.
- Wide Range It also grows across Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
- In India Within India, it is most common in the North-east, plus Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and the Andaman forests.
- Habitat It grows on tree trunks in open forests, from lowland humid forests up to roughly 300-1,500 m elevation.
🎭 Kopou Phool: Culture and State Symbols
1. Bihu and Two State Flowers
- Kopou Phool In Assam, the flower is called kopou phool. It is an essential part of a Bihu dancer’s attire.
- Symbolism Among Assamese youth, it stands for love. It also appears at weddings, as an emblem of fertility and celebration.
- Two States R. retusa is the official state flower of both Assam and Arunachal Pradesh — a rare case of one species serving two Indian states.
- Not Sikkim Sikkim’s own state flower is a different orchid, Dendrobium nobile, not R. retusa.
- Beyond India The species also serves as the provincial flower of Uva Province, Sri Lanka, where it is called Guruluraja.
2. Traditional Medicine
- Rasna Under the name rasna, the root has traditionally treated rheumatism across the subcontinent.
- Regional Uses In the Malabar region, preparations targeted asthma, tuberculosis, and cramps. In Assam, the plant has treated wounds, cuts, and bruises.
Test Yourself
🛡️ Conservation, Trade and the Law
1. Why Wild Stocks Are Falling
- Overexploitation Once plentiful, R. retusa is now classified as endangered in review literature. Heavy collection for the ornamental trade is the main driver.
- Habitat Loss Clearing of open forests removes the host trees the epiphyte depends on, adding to collection pressure.
2. Legal Protection
- CITES R. retusa is listed in CITES Appendix II. International commercial trade in wild-collected specimens is regulated, not banned outright.
- Orchid-wide Cover Nearly all orchid species sit under some CITES appendix, making orchids one of the most comprehensively trade-regulated plant families.
- Wildlife Act Under the original Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, most protected Indian orchids fell under Schedule VI. The 2022 amendment reorganised six schedules into four, folding CITES-listed specimens into a new Schedule IV.
- Tissue Culture Researchers back micropropagation, or tissue culture, as the sustainable way to meet horticultural demand without stripping wild trees.
3. Previous Year Question
- UPSC 2026 On epiphytism, endemism, and state-flower status, this exact species was asked about directly in UPSC CSP 2026, GS Paper I. See below.
Previous Year Question
Asked as: “Consider the following statements about Rhynchostylis retusa (Foxtail orchid): 1. It is an epiphytic orchid. 2. The species is endemic to North-east India. 3. It is the State flower of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?” (UPSC CSP 2026, GS Paper I). Answer: 1 and 3 only — the species is epiphytic and is the state flower of both states, but it is not endemic to North-east India.
For India’s mangrove ecosystems, see EnvEco0027 — Mangrove Forests of India: Beyond the Sundarbans. For the climate of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, home to other orchid-rich forests, see IndGeo0121 — Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Climate. For the 2022 six-to-four schedule reform from an animal-species angle, see EnvEco0063 — The Indian Flying Fox and the WPA 1972 Schedules.
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UPSC CSP 2026 — General Studies Paper I (Full Question Paper)UPSC CSP 2019 — General Studies Paper I (Full Question Paper)UPSC CSP 2023 — General Studies Paper I (Full Question Paper)UPSC CSP 2024 — General Studies Paper I (Full Question Paper)EnvEco0001 — Pollution, Ecosystems and Biodiversity❓ Practice this topic
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