It’s a blue world
As the rare Neelakurinji bursts into bloom this year, learn more about this delicate flower that appears only once in 12 years. Unravel the pictures as you read.
The shrub’s scientific name is Strobilanthes kunthiana. In Tamil and Malayalam, it is called Kurinji or Neelakurinji and Gurige in Kannada. Found in the higher reaches of the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka, the flowers appear only once in 12 years, carpeting the hill sides with purple-blue blossoms.
The Nilgiri Hills derive their name from these flowers: nil meaning blue and giri meaning mountains.
The nomadic Paliyan community, who live in the Nilgiri area, are said to have used the flowering of the plant to calculate the age of the members. The ancient Tamil Sangam literature refers to the mountainous landscape as Kurinji, in a reference to the flower that filled the hills.
Once, the plant covered an area across the Anamalai Hills, Cardamom Hills, Nilgiri Hills, Palani Hills, Kudremukh and Bababudangiri. But its habitat has been taken over by plantations for tea and wood, farms and homes for an increasing population. Kerala’s Idukki district is home to the Kurinjimala Sanctuary, which protects the core habitat of this flower. Another area where the flower is protected is around the Kurinji Andavar temple in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu.
This year, the flower has bloomed across the Nilgiri Hills, leading to an influx of locals and visitors. The Forest Department has closed off access to the areas and warned of stiff penalties for those who pluck the flowers. Earlier this year, the flower was officially included in the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species, after the first-ever global assessment for the species.
In 2023, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) included the plant in its list of protected plants under the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972. Uprooting or destruction of the plant will lead to imprisonment for three years. Cultivation of the Neelakurinji is also not allowed.