New Varieties of Neelakurinji Flowers

• 18 Oct 2022

Why in News?

Recently, 6 new varieties of Neelakurinji Flowers have been identified in the Kallippara hills in Santhanpara region of Western Ghats.

• Neelakurinji Flowers are in full bloom on a vast area on the Kallippara hills in Idukki, Kerala.

What are Neelakurinji Flowers?

• About:
  • In Neelakurinji, ‘Neela’ means blue, and ‘Kurinji’ refers to the flowers.
    • At maturity, the light blue color of the flowers changes to purple bluish.
  • The flowers give the ‘Nilgiri Mountain Range’ its name.
  • The plant is named after the famous Kunthi River which flows through Kerala’s Silent Valley National Park, where the plant occurs abundantly
  • It usually grows at an elevation of 1,300-2,400m.
• Scientific Name:
  • Strobilanthes Kunthiana
• New Varieties Discovered:
  • The types of neelakurinji flowers that have been identified from the hill ranges include:
    • Strobilanthes Anamallaica
    • Strobilanthes Heyneanus
    • Strobilanthes Pulnyensis
    • Strobilanthes Neoasper
• Habitat:
  • All neelakurinji species are endemic to the Shola Forest of Western Ghats.
  • According to statistics, there are more than 40 different varieties of neelakurinji in India.
• Flower Bloom:
  • Flower Bloom takes place once in 12 years as the pollination of flowers needs a longer period.
    • It bloomed for the last time in 2006. The next bloom was expected to happen in 2018, but because of forest fires, Neelakurinji were not seen that year.
• Other Facts:
  • Tamil Nadu’s ‘Paliyan’ tribe used the Neelakurinji flowers to calculate age.
  • There are almost 250 Neelakurinji species in the world.

Source: TH