Wild Flower and Butterfly - Kerala

 Location: Areekode, Malappuram, Kerala, India

A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted.The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more expensively than when labeled with only its name and/or origin.

Kerala's climate is very suitable for growing flowering plant. There are many type of flowers found in Kerala. Some flowers grown in home gardens and some are grown only on forest areas.

many flowers are common and some are very rare. Almost all type of flowers in south India are found in Kerala. 

Dragonfly Picture - Kerala

Odonata Picture - Kerala  ( Location: Vaalillapuzha , Areekode , Kerala , India )

Fauna in Kerala

 India has some of the world's most biodiverse regions. The political boundaries of India encompass a wide range of ecozones—desert, high mountains, highlands, tropical and temperate forests, swamplands, plains, grasslands, areas surrounding rivers, as well as island archipelago. It hosts three biodiversity hotspots: the Western Ghats, the Eastern Himalayas, and the hilly ranges that straddle the India-Myanmar border. These hotspots have numerous endemic species.

Kerala consists of wet evergreen rainforests at lower elevations and highland deciduous and semi-evergreen forests in the east, is subject to a humid tropical climate. however, significant variations in terrain and elevation have resulted in a land whose biodiversity registers as among the world’s most significant. Most of Kerala's significantly biodiverse tracts of wilderness lie in the evergreen forests of its easternmost districts. Kerala contains 9,400 km² of natural forests. Out of the approximately 7,500 km² of non-plantation forest cover, there are wild regions of tropical wet evergreen and semi-evergreen forests , tropical moist and dry deciduous forests ,  and montane subtropical and temperate (shola) forests . Such forests together cover 24% of Kerala's landmass. 

Kerala Monsoon Rain Picture

Location: Areekode , Malappuram , India

Monsoons bring to Kerala two rainy seasons-the southwest monsoon or the Edavappathi, bringing rains during June-September, and the north east monsoon or the Thulavarsham during October to December.The rainforest areas of the state have humid tropical wet climate while the extreme eastern fringes experience a drier tropical wet and dry climate .Kerala receives an average annual rainfall of 3107 mm. 

Southwest monsoon is the main rainy season in Kerala begins by the end of May or early June with the outset of the southwest monsoon winds

 

North East Monsoon in Kerala Also known as Thulaavarsham  hits Kerala during the return of the southwest monsoon winds. These rains are in the months of October and November.

 

About Kerala:

Kerala is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956.The state has an area of 38,863 km² (15,005 sq mi) and is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the south and southeast, and the Arabian Sea on the west. The city of Thiruvananthapuram is the state capital. The city of Kochi and Kozhikode are other major cities.

Kerala (Keralam) the land of kera (coconut) is also known as God's own country. Beautiful beaches, kettuvallams over enchanting backwaters… monsoon showers, misty mountains of the Western Ghats, fairs and festivals.....

Kerala lies along the coastline, to the extreme south west of the Indian peninsula, flanked by the Arabian Sea on the west and the mountains of the Western Ghats on the east. The Western Ghats, bordering the eastern boundary of the State, form an almost continuous mountain wall, except near Palakkad where there is a natural mountain pass known as the Palakkad Gap.

There are 44 rivers in the state, of which 41 originate from the Western Ghats and flow towards west into the Arabian sea. Only three tributaries of the river Cauvery ( Kabani, Bhavani, Paampar ) originate in Kerala and flow east into the neighbouring States.

In the Midland Plains of central region, the hills are not very steep and the valleys are wide. The valleys have been developed as paddy fields and the elevated lands are converted into estates of rubber, fruit trees and other cash crops . Tea and coffee estates have cropped up in the high ranges.

The Coastal Belt strip is comparatively plain. Extensive paddy fields, thick groves of coconut trees and beautiful backwaters, interconnected with canals and rivers. Alappuzha an old sea port town of this region is known as the 'Venice of the East'. 

Wild flowers -Kerala

Location: Areekode, Malappuram, Kerala, India

A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted.The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more expensively than when labeled with only its name and/or origin.

Kerala's climate is very suitable for growing flowering plant. There are many type of flowers found in Kerala. Some flowers grown in home gardens and some are grown only on forest areas.

many flowers are common and some are very rare. Almost all type of flowers in south India are found in Kerala. 

Insects of Kerala -2

Location: Valillapuzha, Areekode , Malappuram , Kerala , India

Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax, and abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are among the most diverse groups of animals on the planet, including more than a million described species and represent more than half of all known living organisms. Insects typically move about by walking, flying or occasionally swimming. As it allows for rapid yet stable movement, many insects adopt a tripedal gait in which they walk with their legs touching the ground in alternating triangles. Insects are the only invertebrates to have evolved flight. Many insects spend at least part of their life underwater, with larval adaptations that include gills and some adult insects are aquatic and have adaptations for swimming.

India has some of the world's most biodiverse regions. The political boundaries of India encompass a wide range of ecozones—desert, high mountains, highlands, tropical and temperate forests, swamplands, plains, grasslands, areas surrounding rivers, as well as island archipelago. It hosts three biodiversity hotspots: the Western Ghats, the Eastern Himalayas, and the hilly ranges that straddle the India-Myanmar border. These hotspots have numerous endemic species.

Wildflowers of Kerala

Location: Areekode, Malappuram, Kerala, India

A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted.The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more expensively than when labeled with only its name and/or origin.

Kerala's climate is very suitable for growing flowering plant. There are many type of flowers found in Kerala. Some flowers grown in home gardens and some are grown only on forest areas.

many flowers are common and some are very rare. Almost all type of flowers in south India are found in Kerala. 

Birds of Kerala

Location: Valillapuzha , Areekode , Malappuram , Kerala , India

The Forest Department of Kerala has just completed the first-ever ornithological survey for the Malabar region recording 341 species of birds.

The survey is one of a kind notable for its sheer depth and span, more comprehensive than all such surveys undertaken so far in India. Hopefully, the five-member team including four eminent ornithologists commissioned by the Forest Department of Kerala, having completed such a through status report on the birds of Kerala, has established a new national benchmark for all such wildlife surveys in future.

The survey spans locations in North Kerala, which covers Palakkad, Malappuram, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasargode districts. The area extends from the Ghats, through the midlands, to the seacoast, which lies north of Palakkad Gap.

The forest areas studied are the Silent Valley National Park, Mannarkad forest division, Nilambur North and South divisions, the Malabar Wildlife Sanctuary, the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary, Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary and their neighbouring areas as well as the Reserve Forests of Kasargode district and the wetlands of North Malabar.

2 of the 341 species surveyed belong to globally-threatened category as notified by IUCN. Alarmingly, of the 22 threatened species 17 are residents and, of which 9 are specifically endemic to Western Ghat. 15 species of birds are found to be abundant in the region, of which two are migrants, and one endemic. They include Yellow-browed Bulbul, Small Sunbird; Green Leaf-Warbler, Large–billed Leaf-Warbler and the three species of Bulbuls including the Black Bulbul.

The surveyors spent a year (from November 1 2010 to the middle of October 2011) during, which they had covered over 4000 km, trekking through treacherous forest areas enduring extreme weather conditions and threats from wild animals.

Siam Weed Flowers -Kerala

                                         Location: Areekode, Malappuram, Kerala, India

Common names include Siam Weed, Christmas Bush, and Common Floss Flower. It is sometimes grown as a medicinal and ornamental plant. It is used as a traditional medicine in Indonesia. The young leaves are crushed, and the resulting liquid can be used to treat skin wounds.Siam weed is considered one of the world's most invasive weeds.


Scientific name :Chromolaena odorata

A wildflower is a flower that grows wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted.The term "wildflower" has been made vague by commercial seedsmen who are interested in selling more flowers or seeds more expensively than when labeled with only its name and/or origin.

Kerala's climate is very suitable for growing flowering plant. There are many type of flowers found in Kerala. Some flowers grown in home gardens and some are grown only on forest areas.

many flowers are common and some are very rare. Almost all type of flowers in south India are found in Kerala.