Neelakurinji Flowers, Features, Significance, Key Details

Neelakurinji Flowers are one of the rarest natural flowering phenomena in the world, known for their mass blooming once every twelve years across select high altitude regions of southwest India. Scientifically named Strobilanthes kunthiana, these flowers transform mountain grasslands into vast blue-purple landscapes. Endemic to India’s Shola Grassland ecosystems, Neelakurinji Flowers are ecologically significant and globally recognised for their unique life cycle, restricted distribution and increasing conservation concerns.

Neelakurinji Flowers

Neelakurinji Flowers refer to the mass flowering of Strobilanthes kunthiana, a semelparous shrub endemic to southwest India’s high altitude mountain landscapes. Strobilanthes kunthiana belongs to the Acanthaceae family and was first scientifically described in the nineteenth century by Nees von Esenbeck. Neelakurinji Flowers occur only in India, confined to five mountain landscapes of the Western and Eastern Ghats. The species flowers once every twelve years, reproduces only once in its lifetime, sets seeds and then dies. It recently bloomed in 2018.

Neelakurinji Flowers Features

Neelakurinji Flowers possess unique biological and ecological features that distinguish them from most flowering plants globally.

• Growth Form: The shrub generally grows 30-60 cm tall but can reach up to three metres under favourable ecological conditions.
• Habitat Range: Found at elevations between 1340 and 2600 metres within shola grassland ecosystems.
• Appearance: Produces dense clusters of purplish-blue flowers, giving the Nilgiri Mountains their name, meaning “Blue Mountains”.
• Population Distribution: Consists of 34 subpopulations across 14 ecoregions, with 33 in the Western Ghats and one in the Eastern Ghats.

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Neelakurinji Flowers Significance

Neelakurinji Flowers hold ecological, conservation, cultural and scientific importance at regional and global levels.

• Ecological Indicator: Acts as a key indicator of ecosystem health in high altitude grasslands of the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot.
• Biodiversity Support: Mass flowering attracts pollinators and supports wildlife, including the endangered Nilgiri Tahr.
• Conservation Status: Listed as Vulnerable under IUCN Red List Criteria A2c due to approximately 40% habitat loss.
• Major Threats: Habitat fragmentation from tea plantations, urban expansion, invasive species, tourism pressure and climate change.
• Cultural Relevance: The Paliyan tribal community uses the twelve year flowering cycle to calculate age and track generations.
• Protected Areas: Kurinjimala Sanctuary in Kerala protects nearly 32 square kilometres of core Neelakurinji habitat.