If you're a nature lover, you'd be more delighted to know how Idukki¡¯s Shalomkunnu (Shalom hills) under the Santhanpara Panchayat are blossoming this year around with the blue Neelakurinji flowers, which blooms once every 12 years.?
This time over 10 acres of Neelakurinji flowers have covered the Shalomkunnu. However, these hills are not open for tourists this time due to COVID-19.
Binu Paul, a native who studies keenly on the biodiversity of Idukki said,?¡°This time owing to Covid, tourists are not allowed to visit the hills. The flowering of Neelakurinji known as Strobilanthes Kunthiana is special for people in Idukki. But along with it, efforts must be taken to conserve such rich biodiversity."
The entire blossoming of these flowers after 12 long years comes after isolated flowering was reported last year from Anakara Mettu Hills of the Western Ghats bordering Tamil Nadu, Puttady near Thondimala and the border village of Shantanpura Gram Panchayat. The isolated flowers happen in various areas around the area of the western ghats.?
The official website of the Kerala Tourism Department said that such plants flower gregariously in a single season, ¡°The time taken to mature varies in different species of Kurinjis. So different species of Kurinjis have different intervals of flowering. Neelakurinji matures in 12 years time and flowers gregariously every 12 years,¡± read a section on the website.?
The most magical thing about these flowers however is that this is categorised as a 'plietesial' plant that may bloom only once in its lifetime, sets seeds and dies.
Even though it is stated that these rare flowers are blooming this year after 12 years, there was news that the flowers also bloomed in the year 2018 making us wonder if the 12-year theory is factually correct.?
In 2018, these flowers blossomed in Kerala's beautiful hill station, Munnar.?