Neelakurinji

About Neelakurinji:

• It is the purplish flowering shrub which blooms once in 12 years.
• Habitat: It is an endemic shrub of three-metre height, seen only in the high-altitude shola grassland ecosystems of five mountain landscapes of southwest India at an elevation of 1,340–2,600 m.
• Distribution:
  • The species has 34 subpopulations within 14 ecoregions of the high-altitude mountain ranges of southwest India. There are 33 subpopulations in the Western Ghats and one in the Eastern Ghats (Yercaud, Shevaroy Hills).
• They are semelparous with showy synchronous blooming and fruiting every 12 years at the end of the life cycle, which has been reported since 1832.
• Cultural significance:
  • Nilgiri Hills (Literally meaning the blue mountains), got their name from the blue flowers of Neelakurinji.
  • The Paliyan tribes (in Tamil Nadu) use it as a reference to calculate their age.
• Threats: It is threatened mainly due to its fragile habitat in the montane high-altitude grasslands that has been under pressure of conversion for tea and softwood plantations, and urbanization.
• Recent Global assessment of Neelakurinji:
  • This is the first-ever Global Red List assessment for this flagship species of the montane grasslands of southwest India.
  • Conservation status: The latest global assessment confirms its threatened status in the Vulnerable (Criteria A2c) category of the IUCN.