It happens only once every 12 years
High up in the mountains of Kerala in the town of Munnar, is one of India’s best-kept secrets—the Neelakurinji—meaning ‘blue flower’. It is one of the world’s rarest flowers because it blooms only once every 12 years, covering the hills in shades of blue that turn to violet towards the end of the season.
The mass flowering attracts bees which create a honey called Kurinjithen that is even more elusive than the flowers. Only local tribesmen are allowed to collect it and it hardly ever reaches the market. The locals believe this honey has medicinal properties that prevents heart blockages, although no specific study has been done, owing to the rarity of its production.
The local forest-dwelling Muthuvan tribe believe their “Flower of the Blue Mountains” to be a symbol of love and romance because their god, Lord Muruga, married Valli, tribal hunter girl, by weaving a garland of Neelakurinji flowers around her neck.
The nomadic Paliyan tribe calculate their age by the number of flowering cycles one has seen.
Photo courtesy of: Rakeshkdogra, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kurunji.\_..jpg
https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20181015-the-flower-that-blooms-every-12-years