India GO
Flower · Osbeckia spp.
Osbeckia (Indian rhododendron family)
IUCN LC · Least concern
A native shrub of the shola edge and grassland margin with magenta-purple four- or five-petalled flowers and rough hairy leaves, flowering after the rains.
How to recognise it
Bright magenta against grass and rock, with distinctive leaves marked by three or five parallel veins running the length of the blade.
Where to see it
Ooty & Coonoor
It is one of the plants that shows why the Nilgiri grassland is not empty ground waiting to be planted: the open downs carry their own flora, and it flowers when the wattle blocks are just dark green.
Wenlock Downs (in season) · Avalanche & Emerald Lakes (Eco-Safari) (in season) · Doddabetta Peak (in season)