In parts of Maharashtra, certain plant species wait throughout the year to bloom only during the monsoon because they love rain.
Key points
- Such plants are termed ephemerals. They are of two types — annual and perennial.
- Annual ephemerals form new individuals every year and are seen for a very short period. They form seeds at the end of their life cycle, remaining dormant till the next year.
- Perennials have a source like a tuber or a bulb in the soil, so it is the same individual, but the other parts (stem, flowers) are newly formed.
- Monsoon ephemerals bloom towards the end of May and throughout June, July, August, and September.
- Some other monsoon ephemerals will just form leaves and little branch structures after a few showers. These leaves stay for a month or more and then flowering starts, which goes on till July and August. The leaves stay till the end of monsoon and then disappear.
- In some plants, like Nervilia and wild yam, flowers appear first and then the leaves.
