| Strobilanthes cuspidatus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Acanthaceae |
| Genus: | Strobilanthes |
| Species: | S. cuspidatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Strobilanthes cuspidatus T. Anders. ex Benth. | |
Strobilanthes cuspidatus is a species of flowering shrub found in the Western Ghats of the west coast of India.
Cuspidatus grows at an elevation of over 1,000 metres above sea level on the eastern slopes of the Western Ghats, where circulating currents of hot air lead to slightly warmer weather than in upper slopes. [1] It is distinguishable from other species of the genus Strobilanthes by the white underside of its leaves and slender spikes with sticky bracts and sepals. Individual shrubs stand two to five feet tall, with long-stalked, ovate leaves that are acuminate at both ends. [2] The flowers bloom once every seven years. [1]
The species was first identified by James Sykes Gamble [1] and was named by Thomas Anderson. [3]
The species is at risk from habitat destruction and invasive species. Specimens in the Nilgiri Mountains have been found near agricultural land and roads, putting them at risk of being cut down by people unaware of their rare status. Naturalists including A. K. Pradeep have called upon the Kerala Forest Department to collect seeds and grow them in protected areas to help protect the species. [1]
Ooty, abbreviated as Udhagai) is a town and municipality in the Nilgiris district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located 86 km (53 mi) northwest of Coimbatore, and is the headquarters of Nilgiris district. Situated in the Nilgiri hills, it is known by the epithet "Queen of Hill Stations", and is a popular tourist destination.
The Nilgiris district is one of the 38 districts in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Nilgiri is the name given to a range of mountains spread across the borders among the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. The Nilgiri Hills are part of a larger mountain chain known as the Western Ghats. Their highest point is the mountain of Doddabetta, height 2,637 m. The district is contained mainly within the Nilgiri Mountains range. The administrative headquarters is located at Ooty. The district is bounded by Coimbatore to the south, Erode to the east, and Chamarajnagar district of Karnataka and Wayanad district of Kerala to the north. As it is located at the junction of three states, namely, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, significant Malayali and Kannadiga populations reside in the district. Nilgiris district is known for natural mines of Gold, which is also seen in the other parts of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve extended in the neighbouring states of Karnataka and Kerala too.
The South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests is an ecoregion in the Western Ghats of southern India with tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests. This biome covers the Nilgiri Hills between elevation of 250 and 1,000 m in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu states.
Sholas are the local name for patches of stunted tropical montane forest found in valleys amid rolling grassland in the higher montane regions of South India, largely in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamilnadu. These patches of shola forest are found mainly in the valleys and are usually separated from one another by undulating montane grassland. The shola and grassland together form the shola-grassland complex or mosaic. Not all such high-elevation grasslands have sholas in their valleys, especially if they are isolated from other such meadows, such as the meadows found in the Idamalayar Reserve Forest in Ernakulam district of Kerala. The word 'Shola' is probably derived from the Tamil language word cōlai (சோலை) meaning grove.
The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve is a biosphere reserve in the Nilgiri Mountains of the Western Ghats in South India. It is the largest protected forest area in India, spreading across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. It includes the protected areas Mudumalai National Park, Mukurthi National Park, Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary in Tamil Nadu; Nagarhole National Park, Bandipur National Park, both in Karnataka; Silent Valley National Park, Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, and Karimpuzha Wildlife Sanctuary in Kerala.
Mukurthi National Park (MNP) is a 78.46 km2 (30.3 sq mi) protected area located in the western corner of the Nilgiris Plateau west of Ootacamund hill station in the northwest corner of Tamil Nadu state in the Western Ghats mountain range of South India. The park was created to protect its keystone species, the Nilgiri tahr.
Strobilanthes kunthiana, known as Kurinji or Neelakurinji in Tamil language and Malayalam and Gurige in Kannada, is a shrub of the bear's breeches family (Acanthaceae) that is found in the shola forests of the Western Ghats in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The purplish blue flower blossoms only once in 12 years, and gave the Nilgiri Mountains range its name as nil (blue) + giri (mountains). The name Neelakurinji originates from the Malayalam language neela (blue) + kurinji (flower). Of all long interval bloomers Strobilanthes kunthiana is the most rigorously demonstrated, with documented bloomings in 1838, 1850, 1862, 1874, 1886, 1898, 1910, 1922, 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006 and 2018, these have no match to Solar cycles.
The Nilgiri Mountains form a part of the Western Ghats in northwestern Tamil Nadu, southern Karnataka and eastern Kerala in South India. They are located at the trijunction of the three states and connect the Western Ghats to the Eastern Ghats. At least 24 of the Nilgiri Mountains' peaks are above 2,000 m (6,600 ft), with the highest peak being Doddabetta at 2,637 m (8,652 ft).
Sispara, സിസ്പാര, a proper noun, is a combination of the Badaga language words si:su + pore; meaning: magnetite bearing rock + gorge. It may refer to:
Orophea thomsonii or Thomson's Turret Flower is a species of shrub or small tree in the Annonaceae family. It is native to Kerala and Tamil Nadu in India and endemic to the Western Ghats mountain range.
Strobilanthes callosa(Synonym: Carvia callosa Bremek) is a shrub found mainly in the low lying hills of the Western Ghats, all along the west coast of India. Its standardized Hindi name is maruadona (मरुआदोना) which it is called in the state of Madhya Pradesh where it is also found. In the state of Maharashtra, in the Marathi language, and other local dialects and in the neighboring state of Karnataka, the shrub is locally known as karvi (कारवी), sometimes spelled in English as karvy.
Karian Shola National Park is a protected area in the Western Ghats, India, nominated as a national park in 1989. The Western Ghats are a chain of mountains running down the west of India parallel with the coast some 30 to 50 km inland. They are not true mountains, but the edge of a fault that resulted about 150 million years ago as the subcontinent of India split from Gondwanaland. They are older than the Himalayan mountain range and are clothed in ancient forests. They influence the weather in India as they intercept the incoming monsoon storm systems. The greatest rainfall occurs between June and September during the southwest monsoon, with lesser amounts falling in the northeast monsoon between October and November. The Western Ghats are a UNESCO World Heritage Site and are considered to be one of the eight most important "hotspots" of biological diversity in the world.
Impatiens denisonii is a scapigerous herb species of the family Balsaminaceae, which is found only in the Western Ghats in South India. It is among the rarest of the eighteen Impatiens species which are endemic to the Nilgiri Hills. It was very abundant and considered among the most beautiful plants in the Nilgiri Hills.
Mussaenda frondosa, commonly known as the wild mussaenda or dhobi tree, is a plant of family Rubiaceae. It is a shrub that grows to about 1.5–2 m tall. Like most other Mussaenda species, they have a bract beneath their flowers, which in this species is white in colour.
The flora of the U.S. Sierra Nevada alpine zone is characterized by small, low growing, cushion and mat forming plants that can survive the harsh conditions in the high-altitude alpine zone above the timber line. These flora often occur in alpine fell-fields. The Sierra Nevada alpine zone lacks a dominant plant species that characterizes it, so may or may not be called a vegetation type. But it is found above the subalpine forest, which is the highest in a succession of recognized vegetation types at increasing elevations.
Cullenia exarillata is a flowering plant evergreen tree species in the family Malvaceae endemic to the rainforests of the southern Western Ghats in India. It is one of the characteristic trees of the mid-elevation tropical wet evergreen rainforests and an important food plant for the endemic primate, the lion-tailed macaque.
North American azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus Rhododendron, section Pentanthera, subsection Pentanthera, so named because they all have five stamens. Most are in the United States, with one species found in Canada and one being found in Mexico. North American azaleas are commonly confused with azaleas of Asian origin, the evergreen azaleas. North American azaleas are deciduous and produce two types of buds. One is a larger and produces about 20 flowers while the other bud produces a leafy shoot. The flower color, fragrance, and number of stamens vary among species.
Jasminum bignoniaceum is a species of plant in the genus Jasminum of the family Oleaceae, commonly called the kurumozhi and pita. It is grown as garden plant in the High Ranges. It is found in Western Ghats. Native of Europe, now widely cultivated in Nilgiris.
Protea intonsa, also known as the tufted sugarbush, is a flowering plant of the genus Protea within the family Proteaceae, endemic to South Africa, where it is distributed from the eastern Swartberg and Kammanassie Mountains to the Baviaanskloof mountains. In Afrikaans it is known as klossie-suikerbos.
Strobilanthes lurida is a species of flowering plant, endemic to Southern Western Ghats.