Neelakurinji flower becomes a ‘threatened species,’ officially

Newsdesk:

Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana), the purplish flowering shrub, which blooms once in 12 years, has been included on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) official Red List of threatened species. This is the first ever Global Red List assessment for this flagship species of the montane grasslands of southwest India.The latest global assessment confirms its threatened status in the Vulnerable (Criteria A2c) category of the IUCN. The mass blooming of the flower is a huge tourist attraction. The blooming was reported recently, though not in a vast spread, at Peerumade in Idukki.