''Strobilanthes kunthiana'', known as Kurinji or Neelakurinji in
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
and
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
and Gurige in
Kannada
Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...
is a
shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
that is found in the
shola
Sholas are the local name for patches of stunted tropical montane forest found in valleys amid rolling grassland in the higher montane regions of South India, largely in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamilnadu. These patches of shola forest are found ...
forests of the
Western Ghats in
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
,
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
and
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
. The purplish blue flower blossoms only once in 12 years, and gave the
Nilgiri Mountains
The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...
range its name, from the
Tamil language
Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pudu ...
''Kurinji'' (flower). a small shrub, blooms once in twelve years, covering the hillsides with bluish flowers, giving the Nilgiris its name.''Strobilanthes kunthiana'' is the most rigorously demonstrated, with documented bloomings in 1838, 1850, 1862, 1874, 1886, 1898, 1910, 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006 and 2018, these have no match to Solar cycles.
The
Paliyan
The Paliyan, or Palaiyar or Pazhaiyarare are a group of around 9,500 formerly nomadic Dravidian peoples, Dravidian tribals living in the South Western Ghats montane rain forests in South India, especially in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. They are tradit ...
tribal people living in Tamil Nadu used it as a reference to calculate their age.
This plant flowers during September–October.
Description
Kurinji grows at an altitude of 1300 to 2400 metres. The plant is usually 30 to 60 cm high. They can, however, grow well beyond 180 cm under congenial conditions.
[Save Kurinji Campaign,]
Flower of the blue mountains]
The kurinji plant belongs to the
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''
Strobilanthes
''Strobilanthes'' is a genus of about 350 species of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, mostly native to tropical Asia and Madagascar, but with a few species extending north into temperate regions of Asia. Many species are cultivated for ...
'' which was first scientifically described by
Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck
Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck (14 February 1776 – 16 March 1858) was a prolific German botanist, physician, zoologist, and natural philosopher. He was a contemporary of Goethe and was born within the lifetime of Linnaeus. He de ...
in the 19th century. The genus has around 250 species, of which at least 46 are found in India. Most of these species show an unusual flowering behavior, varying from annual to 16-year blooming cycles.
Plants that bloom at long intervals like ''Strobilanthes kunthiana'' are known as
plietesials
Plietesials are plants that grow for a number of years, flower gregariously (synchronously), set seed and then die.
The length of the cycle can vary between 8 and 16 years. For example, the neelakurinji plant flowers every 12 years and
bloomed ...
. Other commonly used expressions or terms which apply to part or all of the plietesial life history include gregarious flowering,
mast seeding
Mast is the fruit of forest trees and shrubs, such as acorns and other nuts. The term derives from the Old English ''mæst'', meaning the nuts of forest trees that have accumulated on the ground, especially those used historically for fattening ...
and supra-annual synchronized semelparity (semelparity = monocarpy).
Other ''kurinji'' species, such as ''
Strobilanthes cuspidatus'', bloom once every seven years, and then die. Their seeds subsequently sprout and continue the cycle of life and death.
Masting
Some species of ''Strobilanthes'' are examples of a mass seeding phenomenon termed as
masting
Mast is the fruit of forest trees and shrubs, such as acorns and other nuts. The term derives from the Old English ''mæst'', meaning the nuts of forest trees that have accumulated on the ground, especially those used historically for fattening do ...
which can be defined as "synchronous production of seed at long intervals by a population of plants". Strict masting only occurs in species that are
monocarpic
Monocarpic plants are those that flower and set seeds only once, and then die.
The term is derived from Greek (''mono'', "single" + ''karpos'', "fruit" or "grain"), and was first used by Alphonse de Candolle. Other terms with the same meaning are ...
(or
semelparous
Semelparity and iteroparity are two contrasting reproductive strategies available to living organisms. A species is considered semelparous if it is characterized by a single reproductive episode before death, and iteroparous if it is characteri ...
) -- individuals of the species only reproduce once during their lifetime, then die, as is the case with ''Strobilanthes kunthiana''.
Habitat
Kurinji once used to cover the
Anamalai Hills,
Cardamom Hills
The Cardamom Hills or Yela Mala are mountain range of southern India and part of the southern Western Ghats located in Idukki district, Kerala, India. Their name comes from the cardamom spice grown in much of the hills' cool elevation, whic ...
,
Nilgiri Hills
The Nilgiri Mountains form part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, Southern Karnataka, and eastern Kerala in India. They are located at the trijunction of three states and connect the Western Ghats with the Eastern Ghats. At le ...
,
Palani Hills
The Palani Hills are a mountain range in the southern Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Palani Hills are an eastward extension of the Western Ghats ranges, which run parallel to the west coast of India. The Palani Hills adjoin the hi ...
,
Kudremukh
Kudremukha(ಕುದುರೆ ಮುಖ) is a mountain range and name of a peak located in Chikkamagaluru district, in Karnataka, India. It is also the name of a small hill station iron ore mining town situated near the mountain, about 20 kilo ...
and
Bababudangiri like a carpet during its flowering season. Now plantations and dwellings occupy much of their habitat. Neelakurinji also bloomed in Chandra Drona Hill Ranges (Bababudan Giri) in
Chikkamagaluru
Chikmagalur, known officially as Chikkamagaluru, is a city and the headquarters of Chikmagalur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Located on the foothills of the Mullayanagiri peak of the Western Ghats, the city attracts tourists from ...
district of Karnataka in 2006. The whole of Bababudangiri Hills (Datta Peeta) were covered in a carpet of bluish purple flowers. It is expected to bloom again in 2018 Besides the Western Ghats, Neelakurinji is also seen in the
Shevroy in the
Eastern Ghats
The Eastern Ghats are a discontinuous range of mountains along India's eastern coast. The Eastern Ghats pass through Odisha, Andhra Pradesh to Tamil Nadu in the south passing some parts of Karnataka as well as Telangana. They are eroded and cut ...
,
Sanduru
Sanduru (often written Sandur) is a town in Bellary District in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative seat of Sanduru taluka.
Sandur was ruled by the Ghorpade royal family of the Marathas.The present scion of Sandur is Ajai ...
hills of
Bellary
Bellary, officially Ballari, in the eponymous Bellary district, is a city in the state of Karnataka, India.
History
Bellary was a part of Rayalaseema (Ceded Districts) which was part of Madras Presidency till 1 November 1956.
The Ball ...
district in Karnataka.
In 2006, Neelakurunji flowered again in
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
and
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
after a gap of 12 years.
In 2017, Neelakurinji flowers bloomed in the hills behind Kumaraswamy temple in
Sanduru
Sanduru (often written Sandur) is a town in Bellary District in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative seat of Sanduru taluka.
Sandur was ruled by the Ghorpade royal family of the Marathas.The present scion of Sandur is Ajai ...
,
Bellary
Bellary, officially Ballari, in the eponymous Bellary district, is a city in the state of Karnataka, India.
History
Bellary was a part of Rayalaseema (Ceded Districts) which was part of Madras Presidency till 1 November 1956.
The Ball ...
district.
Conservation
Kurinjimala Sanctuary
Kurinjimala Sanctuary protects the approximately 32 hectare core habitat of the endangered Neelakurinji plant in the Kottakamboor and Vattavada villages in Devikulam Taluk, in the Idukki district of Kerala, a state in southern India.
History ...
protects the kurinji in approximately 32 km
2 core habitat in
Kottakamboor
Kottakamboor is a village in Devikulam taluk of Idukki district in the state of Kerala, India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most ...
and
Vattavada
Vattavada is a village in Idukki district in the state of Kerala, bordering Tamil Nadu, India.
Demographics
As of 2011 Census, Vattavada had a population of 3,292 with 1,690 males and 1,602 females. Vattavada village has an area of with 90 ...
villages in
Idukki district of
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
. The Save Kurinji Campaign Council organizes campaigns and, programs for conservation of the
Kurinji
''Strobilanthes kunthiana'', known as Kurinji or Neelakurinji in Malayalam and Tamil and Gurige in Kannada is a shrub that is found in the shola forests of the Western Ghats in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The purplish blue flower blosso ...
plant and its habit.
[ Kurinji Andavar temple located in ]Kodaikanal
Kodaikanal () is a hill station which is located in Dindigul district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Its name in the Tamil language means "The Gift of the Forest". Kodaikanal is referred to as the "Princess of Hill stations" and has a long ...
on Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
dedicated to Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
God Murugan
Kartikeya ( sa, कार्त्तिकेय, Kārttikeya), also known as Skanda, Subrahmanya, Shanmukha (), and Murugan ( ta, முருகன்), is the Hindu god of war. He is the son of Parvati and Shiva, the brother of Ganesha ...
also preserves Strobilanthes plants.
References in literature
Kurinji flower is used to describe the associated mountainous landscape where it blooms in Sangam Literature classical Tamil literature. The historical novel, ''Kurinji Flowers'' by Clare Flynn features the neelakurinji as a backdrop to a tragic love affair in 1940s India.
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Narendra Modi also referenced the neelakurinji in his Independence Day speech in 2018, a year when the neelakurinji was in bloom.
See also
* '' Strobilanthes callosa''
References
* Sharma, MV et al. 2008
Reproductive strategies of Strobilanthes kunthianus, an endemic, semelparous species in southern Western Ghats, India.
Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. 157:155-163. .
A Revision of the ''Strobilanthes kunthianus''-Group (''Phlebophyllum'' sensu Bremekamp) (Acanthaceae)
Mark A. Carine, Jake M. Alexander and Robert W. Scotland. Kew Bulletin Vol. 59, No. 1 (2004), pp. 1–25
External links
Accepted botanical name
Kurinji flowers - Chikmagalur
More information on neelakurinji
Kurinji and its habitat
When Munnar Blooms Blue in 2018 by Munnar Tourism
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1193992
kunthiana
Flora of India (region)
Plants described in 1861