SGNP To Bloom Into A Lavender Carpet As Karvi Sets In After Eight Years

Tag : SGNP, Sanjay Gandhi National Park , Lavender Carpet

 The long wait of eight years of the Karvi flowers blooming is finally over. In a few days, they are ready to enter the carpet of the forest, including the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). According to naturalists, the blooming of Karvi flower blooms in the rainy season, but the mass blooming happens only once in eight years, and 2008 was the last time it was witnessed.

Associate professor of zoology department and vice-principal of Bhavan’s College who has been following Karvi blooming since 1986 stated that the Strobilanthes Callosa was endemic to the Western Ghats, and their mass blooming could be best witnessed in SGNP, Film City area as well as Tungareshwar, Lonavala-Khandala, Matheran, Mahabaleshwar and other places.

According to him, SGNP is the best place to visit and experience to see the entire forest turning into a lavender field. He further added, “We can already find karvi buds all across SGNP, all ready to bloom. The beautiful purple flowers will bloom within a week or so, according to our estimate. Normally, karvi flowers bloom between late August and early October.” A forest official said that the entire Kanheri caves area as well as the highest point has a carpet of karvi flowers that attracts people and photographers from all across.

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Issac Kehimkar, a naturalist and butterfly expert said that the flowers also play an important role in the forests. He said,” “Karvi grows on rocky slopes and holds the soil, preventing soil erosion. Local tribals use dried karvi stems mixed with mud to make the walls of their huts. One could also witness a lot of insects, butterflies and honeybees seeking nectar in the area.”

He added that the fruit opens up only when the first showers of rain fall on it. In fact, it opens with a popping sound, dispersing seeds all around. A walk will be hosted in the forest by the SGNP’s Nature Interpretation Centre (NIC) and BNHS Conservation Education Centre (CEC) so that the Mumbaikars can witness the nature’s gift.

“The CEC campus in Goregaon is hosting a weeklong karvi festival in late August and early September, to celebrate this rare blooming. It will offer a wonderful opportunity for Mumbaikars to see large patches of hillsides adorned with the beautiful purple flowers in the tranquil and dense forest around BNHS CEC”, said BNHS’s spokesperson.

Source: DNA 

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