Strobilanthes is a shrubby flowering plant that belongs to the Family Acanthaceae and is placed as the second largest genus in this family. The genus comprises of about 350 species mostly native to tropical Asia and Madagascar.
The Indian subcontinent has nearly 150 species, out of which 59 are seen in peninsular India. The genus has shown uniqueness in territorial distribution as well as in ecological status. The most distinctive feature of the genus is its monocarpic or semelparous character (the plant has only one chance to reproduce in its life time) with synchronized gregarious flowering.
Flowering occurs after a predetermined period, after the plant has attained a specific age of physiological growth. However, the periodicity of flowering varies from species to species.
In Kerala we have approximately 40 species of Strobilanthes, of which the Eravikulam National Park alone holds 20 species with the richest species diversity and abundance in Peninsular India.
Eravikulam, with its innumerable biodiversity values, cloud-embraced majestic mountains, incredible valleys, pristine, dark green sholas and on the whole the grandeur of many microclimatic ‘types might have contributed to the emergence of the maximum diversity of this genus. Its significance pertains to the niche, habitat specificity of the genus, their close-knit intricacy with shola-grassland ecosystem and their degree of vulnerability.
Though many studies have been done and still more are ongoing regarding the reproductive strategies, floral traits, pollination biology, philological, genetic, physiological and medicinal characteristics, species distribution etc. This genus has still more chapters of mystery yet to be revealed.
Fig:Strobilanthes Kunthianus ((Neelakurinji)
Eravikulam National Park
Blessed with the rare strobilanthes species, the National Park has a varied range of flora and fauna. Orchids are one of the specialties of this park. There are around 29 Species of mammals out of which 5 are endemic to the Western Ghat’s.
The Nilgiri Tahr, Gaur, Sloth Bear, Nilgiri Langur, Tiger, Leopard, Giant Squirrel and wild dog are common. Half the world’s population of the endangered Nilgiri Tahr lives here. Panthers are usually sighted in the open grasslands while Civet cats and Jungle cats live in the Sholas.
There are also 140 species of birds of which 10 are unique to the Western Ghats. The Atlas moth, the largest of its kind in the world can be seen in this Park. More than 100 varieties of butterflies have been recorded here. 20 species of amphibians can also be found.
Fig: Nilgiri Tahr
Fig-Atlas Moth
Receive Daily Updates
Recent Posts
Steve Ovett, the famous British middle-distance athlete, won the 800-metres gold medal at the Moscow Olympics of 1980. Just a few days later, he was about to win a 5,000-metres race at London’s Crystal Palace. Known for his burst of acceleration on the home stretch, he had supreme confidence in his ability to out-sprint rivals. With the final 100 metres remaining,
[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]Ovett waved to the crowd and raised a hand in triumph. But he had celebrated a bit too early. At the finishing line, Ireland’s John Treacy edged past Ovett. For those few moments, Ovett had lost his sense of reality and ignored the possibility of a negative event.
This analogy works well for the India story and our policy failures , including during the ongoing covid pandemic. While we have never been as well prepared or had significant successes in terms of growth stability as Ovett did in his illustrious running career, we tend to celebrate too early. Indeed, we have done so many times before.
It is as if we’re convinced that India is destined for greater heights, come what may, and so we never run through the finish line. Do we and our policymakers suffer from a collective optimism bias, which, as the Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman once wrote, “may well be the most significant of the cognitive biases”? The optimism bias arises from mistaken beliefs which form expectations that are better than the reality. It makes us underestimate chances of a negative outcome and ignore warnings repeatedly.
The Indian economy had a dream run for five years from 2003-04 to 2007-08, with an average annual growth rate of around 9%. Many believed that India was on its way to clocking consistent double-digit growth and comparisons with China were rife. It was conveniently overlooked that this output expansion had come mainly came from a few sectors: automobiles, telecom and business services.
Indians were made to believe that we could sprint without high-quality education, healthcare, infrastructure or banking sectors, which form the backbone of any stable economy. The plan was to build them as we went along, but then in the euphoria of short-term success, it got lost.
India’s exports of goods grew from $20 billion in 1990-91 to over $310 billion in 2019-20. Looking at these absolute figures it would seem as if India has arrived on the world stage. However, India’s share of global trade has moved up only marginally. Even now, the country accounts for less than 2% of the world’s goods exports.
More importantly, hidden behind this performance was the role played by one sector that should have never made it to India’s list of exports—refined petroleum. The share of refined petroleum exports in India’s goods exports increased from 1.4% in 1996-97 to over 18% in 2011-12.
An import-intensive sector with low labour intensity, exports of refined petroleum zoomed because of the then policy regime of a retail price ceiling on petroleum products in the domestic market. While we have done well in the export of services, our share is still less than 4% of world exports.
India seemed to emerge from the 2008 global financial crisis relatively unscathed. But, a temporary demand push had played a role in the revival—the incomes of many households, both rural and urban, had shot up. Fiscal stimulus to the rural economy and implementation of the Sixth Pay Commission scales had led to the salaries of around 20% of organized-sector employees jumping up. We celebrated, but once again, neither did we resolve the crisis brewing elsewhere in India’s banking sector, nor did we improve our capacity for healthcare or quality education.
Employment saw little economy-wide growth in our boom years. Manufacturing jobs, if anything, shrank. But we continued to celebrate. Youth flocked to low-productivity service-sector jobs, such as those in hotels and restaurants, security and other services. The dependence on such jobs on one hand and high-skilled services on the other was bound to make Indian society more unequal.
And then, there is agriculture, an elephant in the room. If and when farm-sector reforms get implemented, celebrations would once again be premature. The vast majority of India’s farmers have small plots of land, and though these farms are at least as productive as larger ones, net absolute incomes from small plots can only be meagre.
A further rise in farm productivity and consequent increase in supply, if not matched by a demand rise, especially with access to export markets, would result in downward pressure on market prices for farm produce and a further decline in the net incomes of small farmers.
We should learn from what John Treacy did right. He didn’t give up, and pushed for the finish line like it was his only chance at winning. Treacy had years of long-distance practice. The same goes for our economy. A long grind is required to build up its base before we can win and celebrate. And Ovett did not blame anyone for his loss. We play the blame game. Everyone else, right from China and the US to ‘greedy corporates’, seems to be responsible for our failures.
We have lowered absolute poverty levels and had technology-based successes like Aadhaar and digital access to public services. But there are no short cuts to good quality and adequate healthcare and education services. We must remain optimistic but stay firmly away from the optimism bias.
In the end, it is not about how we start, but how we finish. The disastrous second wave of covid and our inability to manage it is a ghastly reminder of this fact.