Q. With reference to Neelakurinji flowers, consider the following statements:
1.The flowers can be found in both Eastern and Western Ghats.
2.The name of Nilgiri Mountains has been inspired from the flower.
3.The Kuruba tribe in Tamil Nadu used the blooming cycle of the flower to calculate their age.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Explanation –
Statements 1 and 2 are correct. Neelakurinji is primarily found in the Western Ghats, particularly in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. However, Neelakurinji can also be seen in the Shevroy Hills of the Eastern Ghats. The Nilgiri Mountains, which means “blue mountains,” derive their name from the Neelakurinji flowers due to their purplish-blue color when they bloom.
Statement 3 is incorrect. The Paliyan tribe in Tamil Nadu used the blooming cycle of Neelakurinji to calculate their age. Neelakurinji is a shrub that belongs to the Acanthaceae family and the Strobilanthes genus. Its most notable feature is its unusual flowering pattern – it blooms only once every 12 years, covering entire hillsides in a purplish-blue flower. The flowering cycle is used as an indicator of ecosystem health.
Source: The Hindu
