Whether it’s our simple seasonal cycles or the complex orbits of planets, the hallmark of natural events is cyclicity
Whether it’s our simple seasonal cycles or the complex orbits of planets, the hallmark of natural events is cyclicity. For centuries, biologists and mathematicians have studied these phenomena to try and predict their exact frequency. They have developed many hypotheses and numerical models to pinpoint the factors behind them, albeit with varying success. Some intriguing events that follow these patterns are cicada life cycles, but there are far more unpredictable events such as our southwest monsoon and the El Nino. A fabulous cyclical event that Mumbaikars are fortunate to experience this year is the flowering of the Karvi (Strobilanthes callosus) plant.
Karvi flowers are found mainly in the Western Ghats of India
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Karvi is a collective name given to the 350-odd, shrubby plants from the Genus Strobilanthes, of which 46 species grow in the low hills of the Western Ghats, along the west coast of India. Ecologically, they are important soil binders and colonisers on wind-swept or disturbed slopes. Most species exhibit cyclic flowering from annual to 16-year blooming cycles. From Gujarat to Kerala, there is often confusion about which species is going to flower in which year.
The varied species of Karvi also look different, with some having stunted basket-like clumps which dot rocky plateaus to the 20-ft tall variety that we find in Mumbai’s Sanjay Gandhi National Park.
Throughout the hilly tracts of Gujarat and Maharashtra, adivasi groups, such as Warlis, Katkaris and Dangis, build sturdy houses using the tall and 2-3 inch thick, square stems of Karvi plants. Interestingly, for the first seven years, Karvi plants give out only vegetative shoots from an underground corm during the monsoon, which lay leafless through the dry months. These dry but hard stems are extracted, strung together and covered with a plaster of mud and cowdung to construct one of the most cost-effective, eco-friendly and thermoregulated huts. The mud-walls are then decorated with tribal paintings. In the eighth year, however, between July and September, the vegetative stalks produce pinkish blue buds at every node, which bloom into mauve clusters. Since Karvi plants spread over entire hill slopes and valleys, the mass flowering transforms the windy forests into lavender waves, which are a sight to behold.
Naturalists, trekkers and photographers will definitely enjoy experiencing and documenting the hyperactivity seen around the nectar and pollen-rich Karvi flowers, which attract a host of butterflies, bees, flies, wasps, beetles, birds and even small mammal species. Following these prey species are their predators. The mildly toxic but velvety leaves of our local Karvi (Strobilanthes callosus) attract many caterpillars, grasshoppers and snails. Thus, the mass-flowering Karvi plants create a food surplus, setting off breeding cycles among many other creatures.
But, once the profusion of violet blooms is pollinated, plenty of seed-containing fruits are produced and the Karvi bush and its corm finally die out. Typically, a single Strobilanthes callosus bloom lasts between 15 to 20 days, though the entire mass blooming extends from mid-August to September-end. Protection of the fruits from forest fires that rage throughout the following dry season (October to June) is critical for the continuation of Karvi on our hill slopes. The next monsoon, the entire hillside is abuzz with the popping of the dry Karvi fruits, in the hope of producing saplings in the wet forest floor. If we don’t act fast, the mindless mining of our mountains may well make this the last Karvi Blossom Fest we may ever witness in Mumbai.
Write to Anand at sproutsenvttrust@gmail.com
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