Kurinji, the Twelve year Wonder of the Western Ghats

 Some of the hills in the Nilagiri part of the Western Ghats are draped in a blue haze. The mass flowering of the Kurinji flowers Strobilanthes kunthiana is at its height on grassy hills near Ooty now.Whole hillsidesare covered in these perfumed wild flowers now. The Kurini flowers once in twelve years, and flowers profusely. Populations of the Kurinji in different sites may have different calendars, but the length of the flowering cycle is the same.

Strobilanthes belongs to the family of Acanthaceae. Plants that flower after long intervals are called Plietesials. According to one hypothesis for this kind of behaviour in plants is that  they exhibit 'Predator satiation'. It is a strategy developed by these monocarpic plants  so that the abundance of floral 'prey' will satiate the insect predators. You can read more about his hypothesis here.http://www.hindu.com/seta/2006/06/15/stories/2006061500421700.h

The plants reckoned without the human predator, it seems. The Kurinji land is now Tea land, with hectares of tea plantations coming up in their habitat. To see these flowers yesterday, we had to walk through a tea plantation and clamber up a rocky outcrop. Our little guide Santosh is holding out a posy of Kurinji flowers for me in this picture.
Kurinji flowers are a symbol of yearning and love in ancient Tamil literature. The plant was first studied and described to the western world by the German botanist Christian Gottfried Daniel Nees von Esenbeck . The name' kunthiana' is from the river Kunthi which flows through the southern part of the Western Ghats.

Determined Wild Flower of a Rain Shadow Region

 Two days ago I saw these wild flowers on a vine which had crept up my Curry Leaf tree. The beautiful tiny white flowers resemble the flowers of the Tabernamontana. The creeper exudes 'milk' when a twig is plucked. The flowers have no scent.

This year, because of the failed monsoon and the ensuing water crunch, many parts of the garden failed to get any water. This creeper, which I think is a native , must have had no competition from exotic plants, and has quietly, but determinedly crept up my Curry Leaf tree.
All native plants have medicinal uses in Ayurveda, but I could not find anyone to identify the plant..
Can you identify it?

Flowers of the Eastern Ghats- Cobra lily

 The Cobra lily, Arisaema is endemic to the Eastern Ghats- a low hill range parallel to the eastern coast line of India.

While Arisaema tortuosa is found in the rain forests of the Western Ghats, this Arisaema is found in the Kolli Hills of the Eastern Ghats.
The remarkable thing about these plants is that they are hermaphroditic. They start life as male plants, and when they are mature, they turn into female plants.
I would be grateful for a correct identification of this Arisaema.

Amla for health

The Indian gooseberry, Amla Emblica officinalis is one of the important ingredients of Chyavan prash, a health giving tonic of Ayurveda. The fruit is loaded with vitamin C. The fruit are somewhat sour to bitter, but their health giving properties make them a perpetual favourite in India. The fruit ripen in winter. Pickle, jam, and morabba are made from them. They are good for the skin, hair and eyes, besides being a powerful anti oxidant.

Green wild flowers

 I came across these wild flowers in the IIT campus in Mumbai. They are greenish in colour, papery to the touch and grow on a wild vine. There were abundant flowers on the vine.
I would like to know the name of this wild flower of the Western Ghats.

The Western Ghats- a World Heritage Site

 The Western Ghats are a series of heavily wooded mountain ranges along the west coast of India. They are one of the 18 bio-diversity hot spots on earth. Besides being home to tigers, leopards, elephants, bison and different birds and insects, this region is also  home to thousands of plants some of which grow nowhere else,

 This giant Barleria flowers once in eight years.

Older than the Himalayas, the Western Ghats are the fountain of life for the Indian peninsula. They control the weather pattern, the rainfall in the subcontinent. Many of the life giving rivers of India begin their journey here. Recently, the Western Ghats were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which was welcomed by naturalists, environmentalists and nature lovers, but vehemently opposed by the mining lobby and other vested interests. I hope these beautiful cloud forests will thrive.

Pineapple Orchid

One of the most spectacular orchids that grow in the wild is the Pineapple orchid Dendrobium multiflorum. It is a native of Meghalaya, a state in the Northeast. The plant has pseudo bulbs. The flowers bloom in April-May, clinging to tall woodland trees. The flowers are golden yellow , with orange-yellow centres.These orchids need a cool and humid climate to flourish.