Rare Karvi wildflowers bloom after 8 years

TNN | Aug 26, 2016, 08.38 AM IST

MUMBAI: Young nature enthusiasts are rejoicing on discovering the rare purple-blue Karvi wildlife flowers in bloom after a period of eight years at Goregaon, close to Sanjay Gandhi National Park. We had gone on a nature trail earlier this week at Goregaon, outside the Film City; it was an unbelievable sight to see so many Karvi flowers in bloom. We had last seen these same species flowers in 2008, when we had gone in around the same site along with children for a trek,'' said the founder of Young Environmentalists Programme Trust, Elsie Gabriel.

Considering this rare botanical phenomenon of Karvi, which is sometimes also referred to as the nature's miracle'', YEPT is planning to undertake several more trails in these parts so that a maximum number of citizens can witness and enjoy this vibrant purplish blue sight amid greenery.

The Karvi flowers bloom for barely 20 days in various parts of the state, especially along the slopes of Sahyadri, western ghats. Nature has a lot of priceless, mysterious treasures which we must appreciate,'' she added.
It's scientific name is Strobilanthes callosa, shrub found mostly in the lower slopes of western India. It typically takes seven years for this wild plant to grow and in the eighth year it bursts into bloom. It's bright lavender colours attracts a host of butterflies, insects and birds during this time.

After the mass flowering, the shrub is covered with fruits which are dry by the next year. With the coming of the monsoon and the first rains in the next year, the dried fruits absorb moisture and burst open with a pop. The hillsides where Strobilanthes callosusgrows are filled with these loud popping sounds of dried seed pods bursting open somewhat explosively for dispersal of seeds and soon new plants germinate taking root in the wet forest floor.