Neelakurinji: Munnar blooms damaged, species facts
Why in the news
Heavy damage to Neelakurinji blooms on unprotected Munnar hills, including Lakshmi Hills and Chinnakkanal, worried the Kerala Forest Department.
Key facts
- A purplish-blue shrub of genus Strobilanthes, family Acanthaceae; best-known species S. kunthiana, famous for gregarious flowering every 12 years.
- Genus size: roughly 450 species globally, over 160 in India, of which more than 72 occur only in the Western Ghats.
- The Nilgiris (blue mountains) are named after it.
- Legal status: Schedule III, Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (added 2024); unlawful collection or destruction can bring jail and fines.
| State | Habitat sites |
|---|---|
| Kerala | Munnar, Eravikulam National Park, Kurinjimala Sanctuary |
| Tamil Nadu | Nilgiris and Palani hills |
| Karnataka | Mandalpatti in Kodagu; Baba Budangiri and Mullayanagiri in Chikkamagaluru |
Habitat
- Restricted to montane shola-grassland ecosystems in peninsular India, around 1,000-2,500 m above sea level.
Biology
- Plietesial cycle: grows for 3-16 years (12 for S. kunthiana), flowers together, sets seed and dies.
- Mast seeding: simultaneous seed output that overwhelms seed predators.
- Shrubs 0.5-3 m tall (some reach 8 m); opposite, stalked leaves hold cystoliths (calcium carbonate deposits).
- Two-lipped flowers in dense spikes, purplish-blue to pale pink.
- Bloom draws honeybees and giant rock bees, giving Kurinjithen, a medicinally valued dark honey.
Exam angle
- Species, family and 12-year cycle.
- Kurinjimala Sanctuary and Eravikulam.
- Terms: plietesial, mast seeding, cystolith, Kurinjithen.