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Pune
Karvy in Pune
Strobilanthes callosa
Karvy is the plant that explains why Western Ghats hillsides occasionally turn blue overnight in September. Between flowerings it is a plain woody thicket, and the honey collected in a flowering year is sold as a separate product.
Where to see it
Tamhini Ghat Waterfalls
Flowers only once every seven or eight years — in a flowering year the Ghat slopes turn blue-violet
How to recognise it
Between flowerings it is a dull, woody thicket with big rough leaves. In a flowering year the hills above Pune turn blue in September and October.