India GO
Nilgiri rhododendron
A gnarled, wind-bent tree of the shola edge that carries dense heads of crimson flowers, found only in the montane cloud forest of the Nilgiri, Palani and Anamalai hills between about 1,400 and 2,400 m.
How to recognise it
Thick leathery leaves with rusty undersides and bell-shaped crimson flowers in rounded clusters, on a low twisted trunk at the grassland-forest boundary.
Where to see it
Munnar
Eravikulam National Park covers roughly 94 per cent of this subspecies' modelled distribution. It is also the one shola tree that survives grassland fire, which is why old individuals stand out alone on burnt slopes.
Eravikulam National Park (in season) · Meesapulimala (in season) · Top Station (in season)
Ooty & Coonoor
It is the only shola tree that survives grassland fire, which is why old individuals stand alone on burnt slopes. Recent phenology work reports its flowering advancing by three to four weeks at higher elevations.
Doddabetta Peak (in season) · Avalanche & Emerald Lakes (Eco-Safari) (in season) · Government Botanical Garden (in season)