Many orchids are epiphytes: they grow on tree trunks and branches rather than in soil, so when a host tree is felled, the orchid usually dies with it. In Kerala, southern India, researchers collected more than 27,000 orchids from trees cut down or marked for removal for road building. They replanted them on trees in two public wetlands and on a beach, and about two years later nearly three-quarters were still alive. The rescue included 12 species found only in the region, and 11 of those have never been assessed for the IUCN Red List, so nobody knows how threatened they are. Kerala has 271 known orchid species, many in the Western Ghats.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.