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Ecology & Environment
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29/09/22 13:07 PM IST

Neelakurinji flowers that bloom once in every 12 years

In News 
  • The flower has bloomed in Chandradrona Mountains in Chikkamagaluru (Karnataka) for 12 years.
About Neelakurinji
  • Neela means blue and Kurinji is the name of the flower, 46 varieties of which can be seen in India.
  • The scientific name of Neelakurinji is Strobilanthes kunthiana.
  • The purplish-blue flowers that bloom only once every 12 years have covered the hills in parts of Karnataka this year. 
  • It is a shrub that is found in the shola forests of the Western Ghats in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
    Locally known as Kurinji, the flowers grow at an altitude of 1,300 to 2,400 metres.
  • Kurinjimala Sanctuary of Kerala protects the kurinji in approximately 32 km2 core habitat in Kottakamboor and Vattavada villages in Idukki district.
  • Kurinji Andavar temple located in Kodaikanal of Tamil Nadu dedicated to Tamil God Murugan also preserves these plants.
  • The Paliyan tribal people living in Tamil Nadu used it as a reference to calculate their age.
  • Karnataka has around 45 species of Neelakurinji and each species blooms at intervals of six, nine, 11 or 12 years.
  • Besides the Western Ghats, Neelakurinji is also seen in the Shevroy in the Eastern Ghats, Sanduru hills of Bellary district in Karnataka.
Source- DTE 

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