Picture this – a vast green exp-anse of forest, dotted with open grasslands at 700 meters above sea level. Trees, shrubs and creepers of various types and demeanour, all covered with an array of pinks, yellows and greens against a stark blue sky. Armed with a field guide, a bottle of water and my trusted camera, I am in paradise somewhere, taking in the grand spectacle of a flora show in the wild, which would inspire anyone.

Amidst the occasional calls of the Red Wattle Lapwings and the ceaseless swirls of a carefree wind, a divine fragrance envelops the environs and grabs my senses – flowering plants of various shapes, hues and sizes that abound our Sahyadris. From the flowers of the Walker Climber (Molalla Spiced), to the iridescent flowers of the Baring (Clerodendrum Serratum) and the amusingly colourful flower of the Madam (Abutilon Persicum), this patch had it all.

Belonging to the group of Angiosperms (flowering plants), or flowering plants, all wild flower bearing plants trace their history to the Cretaceous period of the Mesozoic era and have the distinction of occupying almost every niche of the natural world. One does not have to be a botanist, poet or artist to be able to appreciate flowers in all their magnificence. Wildflowers have been a medium of inspiration for painters, writers and lay people alike for centuries and are also a symbol of a healthy ecosystem and a rich natural heritage.

An inexpensive hobby, watching wildflowers immediately transcends from just observing these natural wonders to knowing their life cycles, time of flowering and other minute details as one gets hooked to this amazing world of flowers. Neither binoculars nor expensive field equipment are required here. One can take in the beauty of wildflowers with ease and marvel at intricate designs, fragrances and colours of these wild wonders.

Some notable representatives of the flower world are the Tiger’s Claw (Gloriosa Superba) or the flowers of Wagahti (Capparis Moonii) are particularly spectacular examples of these living wonders. Each individual would make a different observation about the same flower, for a horticulturist, wildflower watching is a means of appreciating beauty in all its forms, for an ecologist or botanist, an attempt to relate it to his study of ecology or botany. While to a Range Forest Officer, the same knowledge and interest would help get an understanding of the diversity of wildflowers in a given forest patch.

Mountains are particularly great for flower watching and the Sahyadris, be it Mollem National Park in Goa or the Kaas plateau in Maharashtra. Every season, even though monsoon or pre-monsoon are considered flower watching time, is good enough to observe some of the most beautiful of wildflowers that bloom in our part of the wilds.

My experience with stalwarts in the field of Angiosperm study like Dr MK Janarthanam from the Goa University and Dr Mandar Datar from Agharkar Institute Pune, has led me to believe that very thick forest patches have lesser diversity of wild flowering plants due to the dense undergrowth and natural open forest patches, grasslands and rivulets of banks boast of a greater diversity, especially in the Goan Sahyadris.

Most flowers bloom in the early mornings, others like that of Mucuna Monosperma (Pandhri Kachkutli) at night, while orchids like Dendrobium Ovatum (Hirvi Dand Amri) last for over a week and more and the Carvia Sp flowers once in seven years. Discovering and identifying wildflowers can be a fascinating experience but, if you ever feel that there aren’t enough wildflowers to see, ponder on this – they are the most dominant in the plant kingdom and India alone has over 15,000 flowering plants, most of them documented in the Western Ghats and North East India.

So go ahead then, arm yourself with a good book on Wildflowers of the Sahyadris, and walk along that unbeaten path to watch and observe wildflowers, and with every discovery, the urge to learn more will continue to draw you back into these magical forests, the Sahyadris. u

(Nirmal U Kulkarni is a Goa-based ecologist and researcher and author of The Goan Jungle Book)