Neelakurinji (Strobilanthes kunthiana) flowers have bloomed in vast stretches in Kinnakkara and Ooradam hills, near Attappady, which shares border with the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu.
Both the hills are located 4,000 ft above the mean sea level (msl) in the Attappady Forest Range of the Mannarkkad Forest Division. Local people said that the flowers had bloomed after a gap of 12 years.
They said though neelakurinji had flowered in some other parts of Attappady in small patches some years ago, this was for the first time it was found in vast areas of the two hills.
The flowered plants were identified as Strobilanthes kunthiana of the Kurinji family.
It is a beautiful sight to see the two small hills fully covered with the flowers,” said Ummer Nazeer, a nature enthusiast from Palakkad.
Local people said the spectacle would last till November end.
