Context: The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has listed Neelakurinji ( Strobilanthes kunthiana) under Schedule III of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, including it on the list of protected plants.
About Neelakurinji:
It is a shrub that is found in the shola forests of the Western Ghats in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Locally known as Kurinji, the flowers grow at an altitude of 1,300 to 2,400 metres.
Nilgiri Hills, which literally means the blue mountains, got their name from the purplish blue flowers of Neelakurinji that bloom only once in 12 years.
Kurinjimala Sanctuary of Kerala protects the Kurinji in approximately 32 km2 core habitat in Kottakamboor and Vattavada villages in Idukki district.
Kurinji Andavar temple located in Kodaikanal of Tamil Nadu dedicated to Tamil God Murugan also preserves these plants.
The Paliyan tribal people living in Tamil Nadu used it as a reference to calculate their age.
Karnataka has around 45 species of Neelakurinji and each species blooms at intervals of six, nine, 11 or 12 years.
Besides the Western Ghats, Neelakurinji is also seen in the Shevroy in the Eastern Ghats, Sanduru hills of Bellary district in Karnataka.
