Calls to declare Nilgiri lily ‘district flower’ to help in conservation efforts

With the endemic Nilgiri lily (Lilium wallichianum var. neilgherrense) in bloom across its limited geographical landscape in the Western Ghats, ecologists and botanists have highlighted the species’ gradual decline over the last few decades and called on the government to declare it as the Nilgiris’ ‘district flower’ to aid in its conservation.

In his book, The Toda Landscape: Explorations in Cultural Ecology, Tarun Chhabra, an expert on the indigenous Todas of the Nilgiris, states: “During the final phase of the monsoon, in late August, no plant is more visible and attractive than the spectacular Nilgiri Lily (Lilium neilgherrense). The Todas call this lily pehnapoof, possibly due to its habitat, which it shares with the pehn or prehistoric stone circles of the Upper Nilgiris. Another meaning for pehnapoof is “golden flower”. Its flowering indicates the approaching end of the south-westerly monsoon season.”

Dr. Chhabra states that no proper status surveys have been conducted on the Nilgiri lily, which is endemic to only the Nilgiris and the Palani hills. Since it flowers only for about three weeks on a few remote hilltops, most local people are unaware of its very existence, he adds.

Dr. Chhabra tends to the Nilgiri lily in bloom at his residence in Udhagamandalam.
| Photo Credit:
M. Sathyamoorthy

Shiny Mariam Rehel, senior programme co-ordinator with the Keystone Foundation, told The Hindu that she had observed that the lilies, seen only among high-elevation grasslands and rocky outcrops in the Nilgiris, were in decline even in areas where they were seen more commonly over the last decade. “There is an immediate necessity to conduct an assessment to identify where the plants still exist and carry out interventions that will help conserve it,” said Ms. Rehel.

Ecologists believe cattle grazing, climate change, and the spread of invasive species pose a considerable threat to the Nilgiri lily, with their population believed to be on a drastic decline.

Dr. Chhabra believes the species to be “vulnerable.”

“The Nilgiri lily once occurred plentifully on the rocky hilltops in the upper Nilgiris — at both mid- and high-elevations” especially around Udhagamandalam town, he told The Hindu. With the help of Toda elders and its association with the final phase of the south-west monsoon, it was re-found in other places in the Nilgiris, from Bikkapathy Mund to Parson’s Valley.

“However, these are all remnant populations of a once ubiquitous plant that the British collected and planted in their gardens… It appears to me that frost is a requisite for it to bloom in the next season. Since we often find that an entire hilltop now has just a couple of blooms, and often the many plants present are not flowering for years on end, there appears to be some connection with warming climates and less severe winters (leading to reduced blooming),” said Dr. Chhabra.

As Manipur has declared the Shirui lily to be its State flower, Dr. Chhabra believes declaring the Nilgiri lily to be the ‘district flower’ can bring about awareness to the species that can help in its conservation.