Immature capsules of Cymbidium elegans and Dendrobium densiflorum were collected from Conservation Demonstration Garden of ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain

A comparative study of in vitro seed germination of two endangered orchid species, viz. Cymbidium elegans Lindl. and Dendrobium densiflorum Lindl. ex Wall., was carried out on Murashige and Skoog’s (MS) medium, supplemented with different concentrations and combination of 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and á-Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). The hormone-free MS medium and MS medium supplemented with various growth hormones were found effective for in vitro seed germination of both species. However, the seeds of these two species showed variation in their germination behavior. Hormone-free MS basal medium was found most effective for seed germination of D. densiflorum; whereas, basal medium supplemented with BAP (1mg/l) was effective for C. elegans. The seeds of D. densiflorum showed quick response in earlier germination, protocorm formation and further development into seedlings in comparison to C. elegans. In C. elegans, germination of immature seeds started after nine weeks of inoculation; whereas in D. densiflorum, the initiation of germination started after five weeks of culture. The variations in seed germination, protocorm formation and seedling differentiation in the two orchid species might be due to the differences in their genetic constitution and the presence of different endogenous growth stimulating substances present in their seeds. The present study has provided useful information for in vitro clonal mass multiplication of these commercially important orchid species. Key-words: growth hormone, in vitro study, orchid.