Cestrum aurantiacum and Lantana camara

Subject: Environment

Context:

Iconic flora native to the Nilgiris, including more than 30 species of Strobilanthes, could be under threat of being displaced with the continuing advance of invasive flora such as Cestrum aurantiacum and Lantana camara

Concept:

• The mass blooming of the Strobilantheskunthiana, known commonly as the neelakurinji, gave the Nilgiris (the blue mountains) its iconic name as the slopes were covered once in 12 years by the mass blooming of the shrub.
• Recently, the blooming of the Strobilanthesfoliosa has been reported in parts of the Nilgiris.
• There is prevalence of invasive species that have come to populate the habitats of the native Strobilanthes plants.
• While the habitat of the Strobilanthes plants in the upper Nilgiris is being eroded by the Cestrum aurantiacum, they are threatened by other invasive species like Lantana camara in the lower slopes.