Every dozen years or so, Sri Lanka’s mist-shrouded highlands burst into color. Violet, pink and white carpets of tiny blooms spread across the grasslands of the Horton Plains and other hill country trails, drawing thousands of visitors eager to witness one of nature’s rarest spectacles: the mass flowering of nelu, a group of native shrubs belonging to the genus Strobilanthes, known for synchronized mass flowering occurring every 4-12 years.

Strobilanthes shrubs bloom together, set seed and then die, transforming the landscape in a breathtaking but fleeting display of sheer floral beauty. Yet, behind this beauty lies a scientific mystery. These plants flower so rarely and in a perfectly synchronized manner. It only adds to the allure of this natural wonder, even as crowds flock to see the floral carpets, exerting new pressure on the fragile montane ecosystem.

To read the full story visit https://news.mongabay.com/2025/10/after-a-hiatus-an-endemic-plant-bursts-into-life-in-sri-lankas-central-hills/

Photo credit: Jinapriya Gallage