As the first monsoon showers fall across India, parched earth is turned into a lush green canvas. From the Himalayan slopes to the rolling plateaus of the Western Ghats, the land awakens with a burst of colour. These are not garden-variety flowers nor cultivated blooms; they are wild, seasonal, and temporary. Monsoon wildflowers have adapted to grow in this narrow window of warmth and rain, and their short-lived splendour has fascinated botanists, ecologists and travellers.

Let us walk through the monsoon season’s most recognisable wildflower stars, which appear every year (or once in a generation), light up the landscape, and vanish before winter returns.

1. Neelakurinji

Where to find it
Neelakurinji is native to the shola grasslands of the Western Ghats, particularly in Munnar and Eravikulam National Park in Kerala, as well as parts of Tamil Nadu.

Blooming season
This flower blooms once every 12 years, which is a rare and spectacular event. The most recent bloom was in 2018, and the next is expected in 2030.

Why is it special
Neelakurinji is a rare botanical phenomenon. The mass flowering event, known as “gregarious blooming”, sees entire hillsides turn a misty blue-violet. It is significant to the........

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