NASHIK: The Borgad conservation reserve is witnessing massive flowering of Karvi or Strobilanthes callosa Nees. It is after 8 years the Karvi species is flowering here. Last year too, there was blooming but was in limited patches. This year the flowering has been observed in much larger region, informed Nature Conservation Society of Nashik’s Pratiksha Kothule.
Karvy is a purplish-blue wild flower, which blooms once every seven years. The plant was first discovered by Nees, a resident Britisher of Mumbai in the last century. The Karvy plant grows wild around Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh, Parts of Gujarat and in large areas of Konkan and North Kannara Ghats. It is a shrub growing 2-6 meter tall. Oppositely arranged, elliptic-lancelike toothed leaves are 10-20 cm long.
Each year the plant comes alive with the advent of Monsoon,and once the rains are over, what is left behind is dry and dead-looking stems.This pattern repeats itself for seven years. In the seventh year, the plant explodes into mass flowering. The Karvy plant has many uses as well. The leaves and the stems are also used for thatched roofs after the season is over.
Locally in all the tribal areas the Karvi is the main raw material and structural element for making huts. In all the tribal tehsils of district the Karvi walls are erected by tieing up the Karvi stems and giving it a layer of mud and cow dung to build a wall structure.
Strobilanthes callosa
It is a shrub found mainly in the low hills of the Western Ghat bets (Gujarat, Maharashtra, north Karnataka). The karvi blooms once in seven or eight years is lighting up the hills of Maharashtra and parts of South India. Southern Blue Oakleaf (Kallima horsfieldi) butterfly is commonly seen in Karvy groves, and is its host plant. Also a host plant to Chocolate Pansy and Malabar Spotted Flat Butterfly. Karvi flowers are also pollinated by honey bees and other insects. Karvi honey is famous and very medicinal.
“In 2013 the Karvi flowering was observed throughout the Borgad Conservation Reserve. After that, this year the Karvi flowers are blooming here. This year it must have got the favourable weather conditions and because of that the forest region has been seen spread with the colours of Karvi flowers.” – Pratilsha Kothule, Nature Conservation Society of Nashik
