Karvi flowers in bloom.
Photo: Special arrangement/Shardul Bajikar
After a gap of eight years, the Karvi bloom is being witnessed in large stretches of Western Ghats of India.
Karvi (Strobilanthes callosa) is a shrub which is found in the Western Ghats along the west coast of India. The shrub has an interesting life cycle.
It comes alive and green every year during the monsoon, but once the rains are over, all that is left is dry and dead-looking stems. This pattern repeats itself for seven years, but in the eighth year the plant bursts into mass flowering.
The flowers are like miniature funnels and the buds are pink in colour which gradually unfolds to become purple-blue.
The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) is organising a Karvi trail in Mumbai next week.
“The Karvi plant which blooms once in eight years is nature's beautiful phenomenon,” said Shardul Bajikar, Education Officer, Conservation Education Centre, BNHS.
During the weekends, nature lovers are heading to forts and hills of the Sahyadri Ranges to witness the Karvi bloom.
In the Mumbai metropolitan region, people are going to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, Film City, Kharghar Hills and other places to see the boom.