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?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 1 and 3
The foxtail orchid grows perched on trees rather than in soil, and it is the State flower of Arunachal Pradesh and of Assam. It is not a North-east endemic, because the species ranges across South and South-east Asia.
- ✓ 1. The Botanical Survey of India describes Rhynchostylis retusa as an epiphytic herb: it lives on the branches of host trees. NCERT gives an orchid growing on a mango branch as its standard example of an epiphyte.
- ✗ 2. The Botanical Survey of India gives its range as India, Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam, so it is not restricted to North-east India.
- ✓ 3. Arunachal Pradesh's official state profile lists the Foxtail Orchid as its State Flower, and the Botanical Survey of India's State Flower sheet for Assam names the same orchid (kopou phul) as Assam's State Flower.
Remember · Foxtail orchid (Rhynchostylis retusa): an epiphyte; State flower of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam; widespread in Asia, not a North-east endemic.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Biology, Ch 11 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- Department of Information and Public Relations, Government of Arunachal Pradesh: About State ↗ “State Animal: Hoolock Gibbon (Hylobatidae Hoolock) State Flower: Foxtail Orchid (Rhynchostylis Retusa) State Tree: Hollong (Dipterocarpus Macrocarpus)”
- NCERT Class 12 · Biology, Chapter 11 “An orchid growing as an epiphyte on a mango branch, and barnacles growing on the back of a whale benefit while neither the mango tree nor the whale derives any apparent benefit.”
- Assam State Flower: Rhynchostylis retusa, ENVIS State Flower sheet, Botanical Survey of India (MoEFCC); Internet Archive copy of bsienvis.nic.in ↗ “ASSAM ASSAM ASSAM ASSAM State State State State Flower Flower Flower Flower: Fox-tail Orchid. … Epiphytic herbs. Stems terete, 10 – 15 cm long, sheathed at base. … India, Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.”
Question and answer: UPSC's provisional GS Paper I (2026, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 1 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·