Sunday, July 15, 2007

Bramha Kamal... a rare lotus

The Bramha Kamal is a rare lotus named after lord Brahma, the creator in Indian Mythology.

It is considered very lucky to see it bloom and blooms around midnight. The night it blooms the buds emit a strong fragrance. The buds then start blooming as the night falls and by midnight the flowers are completely blooming. It survives only for a single night.

Its botanical name is Saussurea Obvallata

It is believed that this flowers blooms once in 14 years which is not true. Being a flower loving family my Mom had planted a few in her small garden.

The first time the plants bloomed was a few years back on Krishna Janmashtami, lord Krishna’s birthday. When we returned at midnight from the temple, we were met with a nice fragrance and were wondering where it was coming from.

Then, on investigation we saw the flowers blooming. Since then every year the same group of plant keeps blooming around the same time or even within 6 months.

Once we had four flowers blooming at the same time. And by then we were experienced to exactly know the day it would bloom I was ready with my camera. And I just couldn’t get enough of them. Here are some shots of the rare flower.
The buds are starting to bloom.

Around midnight when it is opening up completely.










A fully bloomed Bramha Kamal, a rare sight.

10 comments:

Bishop said...

amazing... i have shot many flowers myself... but this one is really rare... n 4 of them, awesome... Gr8 work gal!!
- Bishop

Abhijeet Nagawade said...

Bramha Kamal is no more a rare plant these days as many households have a brahma kamal plant in their garden or in a pot.

At my home Bramha kamal keeps blooming througout the rainy season, with more that 8 to 10 flowers at a single bloom.

Once 21 flowers bloomed at a single night

anshu said...

hi i was searching for the bhrama kamal when i came across your blog.actually it was my curiosity that lead me here. what i wanted to know was that do bhrama kamals come in violet shades also? there is a flower called kangdali(local name) in the upper slopes of the himalayas which blooms once in 12 years. i could find very little about it on the internet. the closest i came to was the bhrama kamal as it blooms very rarely.people that have seem the kangdali in full blossom say its violet. i just want to rule out the bhrama kamal. is it so?

Saurabh said...

Just a correction, the flower you have mentioned is the faux Brahma Kamal. The true Brahma Kamal grows in alpine weather. Saussurea obvallata is the name of the alpine plant. The picture you have here is a species of cactii. This one's called Epiphyllum oxypetalum.

Unknown said...

Hi,

Nice pictures!! The plant you have captured is

Epiphyllum oxypetalum
(http://www.ecology.org/ecophoto/articles/Epiphyllum.htm)

Taking nothing away for this plant, the real ``Brahma Kamal''(of himalayan origin) is this one:

http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Brahma%20Kamal.html


Thank you for sharing the photos, I have one Epiphyllum oxypetalum that flowered yesterday, and that sight was truly amazing. Never have seen such an elaborate flower!!

Makjej said...

There is one which all set to bloom in our home garden right now. Yesterday i noticed it but the flower didnt bloom till 2 am. i hope i can see it bloom tonight. Sharing the latest picture with you herr.

Johny said...

Amazin pics!!

i too have 3 saplings in one pot.
6 months old. Hope they bloom soon.


Just wondering what are the signs of bloom.

rajesh angal said...

I have one plant that blooms 4-5 times in year between July to Dec and cumulaitve flower count is 12-18. rajesh angal 9892553007

trishaanu said...

@Soursbh.. What u see is no cactus... Its Bramhakamal flower ... May be the plant was grown from roots in a pot... This is no wilderness... And these type of flowers(there are few more) Which bloom generally during summers... Why are u mentioning of Alpine climate and all.. Here is a tip fpr you.. Get a camera and wait 6months to 1year and get a nice shot... hope you believe this is mo faux.. Me n my landlord are enjoying these wonders past tho weeks... I saw around 40 flowers bloom

Narendra Deshmukh said...

Nice imformation, I found on ur blog.

Narendra