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Uncovering the mysteries of Nelu
View(s):Dr. Nilanthi Rajapakse leaves no stone unturned to shed light on this beauty which has diversified habitats, gregarious occurrence and elegant flowering
By Kumudini Hettiarachchi
“When all at once I saw a crowd, a host of golden daffodils………..I gazed – and gazed…..,” a poet waxed eloquent in faraway England way back in 1804, but for plant taxonomist, ecologist and conservationist Dr. Nilanthi Rajapakse in Sri Lanka, the ‘wow’ factor came with a lush carpet of purplish flowers.
It was Nelu (Strobilanthes) that riveted her attention and as Horton Plains comes alive with this wonder now, drawing “oohs” and “aahs” from men, women and children crowding the area, this scientist who is attached to the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) shares her knowledge.
Mass flowering of Nelu now at Horton Plains
The spark of interest in Nelu had been kindled by her botany teacher at Sumana Balika Vidyalaya in Ratnapura, when she got schoolgirl Nilanthi to talk about it to her classmates, as it was part of the Advanced Level syllabus.
Later, it seemed as if it was “meant to be”, for when in university studying for her Botany Special Degree, a fulfilment criteria was to make a herbarium of a particular family and she was “by chance” assigned Acanthaceae. This deepened her interest. Next it was an MSc in Molecular Biology, followed by a PhD in 2023 on a total taxonomic review for the genus Strobilanthes using molecular techniques.
Before getting into her discovery of three new species of Nelu, Dr. Rajapakse points out that most species of this genus (a group marked by common characteristics – smaller than a ‘family’ and larger than a ‘species’) are known for their medicinal value including anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer and wound-healing properties. There is also an economic value as their leaf extract is used in the production of indigo (in-between blue and violet) dyes.
She points out that Strobilanthes belongs to the family Acanthaceae and had first been described by German-Dutch botanist Karl Ludwig von Blume who had served at the Bogor Botanical Gardens in Java (1823–1826), Indonesia. He had collected his specimens from West Java.
Explaining that Strobilanthes is one of the largest genera in the flora of Sri Lanka, Dr. Rajapakse underscores what others have said before.
Dr. Nilanthi Rajapakse amidst her beloved Nelu shrubs at Horton Plains
Strobilanthes is deemed “most interesting” for its diversified habitats, gregarious occurrence and elegant flowering. While around 450 species are distributed across several countries mainly in tropical Asia, these shrubs dominate the montane forest understory (slopes of mountains) in Sri Lanka, with several species often occurring together.
With many of the species of these beauties being poorly known and rarely collected due to their seasonal flowering pattern, there had been no updates in Sri Lanka about them for more than two decades, until Dr. Rajapakse embarked on their trail.
Hiking uphill or trudging along rugged pathways, she and her team armed with cameras and notebooks, had carried out extensive plant explorations across the whole country from around 2005. The work was taxing but also rewarding – they recorded Nelu species from 22 of the 25 administrative districts, with many species having a rather restricted distribution in undisturbed moist montane, sub-montane and lowland forests of the central and southwestern parts of the country.
Nelu species grow from 100 metres up to 2,800m, says Dr. Rajapakse, spotlighting the ‘wide range’ of habitats such as steep rocky slopes, along the margins of grasslands, slopes at lower altitudes, in plains, thick rainforest undergrowth, open rocky cliffs, on exposed rocks, along stream banks, evergreen forest margins, primary forests and even moist rocks along streams.
To spread the word about this nature’s wonder, she has authored the book ‘Strobilanthes’ (Nelu) along with a pocket guide featuring an identification key.
Happy that her studies and papers published in scientific journals have brought out morphological characters (observable physical traits) that can be used for taxonomic classification (organisation into specific groups) of Nelu species and their diverse habitats, Dr. Rajapakse worries about threats to her beloved Nelu.
These threats to Nelu’s plant diversity include urbanisation, touris, cultivations, fires, overgrasing, pollution, road and dam constructions and invasive species.
If conservation measures are not taken, cautions Dr. Rajapakse, the rippling glorious purple waves of Nelu may disappear forever!
| Her discoveries Dr. Nilanthi Rajapakse and her team had discovered three new species, two varieties, set two new records, made three rediscoveries of rare species and found 28 new localities where Nelu grows.  Strobilanthes medahinnensis Nilanthi The new species are:  Strobilanthes glandulata Nilanthi
Strobilanthes medahinnensis Nilanthi, found in Medahinna, in the Sri Pada area also known as the Peak Wilderness or Samanala Nature Reserve Strobilanthes glandulata Nilanthi found in Rambukoluwa in the Knuckles Forest Reserve Strobilanthes sripadensis Nilanthi & Gopallawa found in Katukithula in Sri Pada.
 Strobilanthes sripadensis Nilanthi & Gopallawa | |
| Another mass flowering in 2030, forecasts Dr. Rajapakse There will be a mass flowering of Nelu in 2030, five years from now and not in another 12 years, at another location in Horton Plains, forecasts Dr. Nilanthi Rajapakse backed by extensive research. Sri Lankans will not have to wait with bated breath for the 12-year flowering cycle to come round in 2037. She says that there are two populations of different ages at Horton Plains. The currently blooming Nelu falls into one age group, while those in the other age group will bloom in another five years. “This is a survival adaptation for better pollination.” The currently blooming Nelu had flowered in 2013. The other group had flowered in 2018 and will bloom again in 2030. Looking at past records, Dr. Rajapakse says that the mass flowering was first recorded in 1881 by English planter Thomas Farr who built Farr Inn in the Horton Plains. Indicating that the cycle was 12 years, he had seen it flowering once again in 1893 and 1905, predicting the next for 1917, but had left Ceylon in 1910.
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