The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Foursome wonder blooms at Coonoor

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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Foursome wonder blooms at Coonoor

Special Correspondent

Nishakanthi grown by an employee has yielded four flowers

— Photo: Special Arrangement

FEAST TO the EYE: Nishakanthi flower blooming in a house at Coonoor.

UDHAGAMANDALAM: Come summer and the air in the Blue Mountains is thick with talk about flowers.

Holding the centre stage are not only the flowers grown by the Department of Horticulture to provide a visual treat to tourists flocking the Government Botanical Garden and the Sim’s Park, but also those lovingly nurtured by nature lovers in various parts of the district.

Talk of the town

Subramaniami, a gardening enthusiast, is the talk of the town at Coonoor.

This employee of Aringar Anna School has a reason to be proud.

The Nishakanthi (Epiphyllum), plant which he has painstakingly cultivated in his house at Mount Pleasant, has yielded four flowers — a rare event, as a plant will normally have only one flower.

And what is more, this flower of the cactus family blooms only for a night, informs Assistant Director of Horticulture V. Ramsundar.

The common names of the plant, native to Central America, include orchid cacti and leaf cacti.

Among the gardening enthusiasts only those with an ardent interest in the hobby can grow Nishakanthi. Epiphyllum in Greek means ‘upon the leaf,’ and the flowers appear to bloom directly on the leaves.

Between April and June, they thrive in tropical conditions.

Popular house plants

In some countries, epiphyllum societies have been formed, as they are popular house plants.

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