Subscribe to our WhatsApp Channel
The “Nelu flower” blooming in Horton Plains, which has not occurred in 12 years, has caught the attention of many Sri Lankans. However, among many videos of the rare Nelu Flower blooming in Horton Plains, some misleading content was also shared, mistakenly attributing it to the rare spectacle in Sri Lanka. Let’s look at the viral video clip in detail.
Social Media Posts :
A video was shared on social media, purportedly showing the ‘Nelu Flower’ with the caption, “Nelu Flower in Horton Plains, which blooms once every 12 years”.
Here is how this video was shared multiple times.
Some mainstream media also reported on the blooming of the Nelu Flower in Horton Plains.
These videos were also shared on TikTok.
We took steps to verify whether this video was actually filmed at the Horton Plains.
Fact Check :
We observed that the Nelu Flower, which actually blooms in the Horton Plains, looks different from the flower shown in the above-mentioned circulated video.
The nature of the flower and the plant, and their positions, seem different.
Here are the social media posts featuring videos and photos of the Nelu Flower.
Another video is shown below.
You can refer to more videos from here, here, here, here and here. More photos from here, here, here and here.
A close-up shot of the Nelu Flower
Accordingly, the Nelu Flower shown in the viral videos differs from the actual Nelu Flower in both colour and shape.
Therefore, we conducted a reverse image search on the viral content. We found that the viral clip had been misattributed to Horton Plains, Sri Lanka, and that the flowers seen in the clip were Rhododendron blooming on Ningbo Jin’e Mountain, in Ningbo, China.
Ningbo Jin’e Mountain is a mountain in Ningbo, China, where Rhododendrons usually bloom from mid-April to mid-May. The area is a popular destination for hikers and campers who come to see the colourful flowers, which are a significant attraction on the mountain, according to web reports.
A web report about a Rhododendron forest on Guifeng Mountain in Macheng, Hubei Province, central China, was published as follows.
Photos of rhododendron flowers taken by tourists can be found here, here, here and here.
Rhododendron is a large and showy flower in purple-pink or pink white. Rhododendron flowers are usually 3 to 6 inches wide.
A close-up photo of the Rhododendron flower.
Rhododendrons are found in China, particularly in places like Baili in Guizhou Province and Guifeng Mountain in Hubei. They are also found worldwide, mainly in the Himalayan region, including Nepal, India (Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh), and Bhutan. Other places where they are found include parts of North America, Europe, and Australia. Information on this can be found here, here, here, and here.
Former Director of the National Botanical Gardens
To confirm this, we inquired from Professor Cyril Wijesundara, former Director of the National Botanic Gardens and the Director of the Office of Plant Classification and Conservation at the National Institute of Fundamental Studies.
He stated that the viral video does not depict a variant of ‘Nelu Flower’, a plant in the Strobilanthes genus. The video shows a type of Azalea, a genus of Rhododendron.
The professor pointed out that the only species of rhododendron in the country is the species Rhododendron arboretum, known as ‘Maharath Mal’, but it is also completely different from the species shown in the video above.
A close-up photo of the Maharath Mal flower.
Several types of azaleas are cultivated in the Nuwara Eliya/Hakgala areas, mostly Rhododendron indicum varieties.
He further confirmed during our inquiry that Nelu species are endemic to Sri Lanka, and there are about 35 endemic species, including Strobilanthes sexennis (Blue), Strobilanthes pulcherrima (Purple), Strobilanthes calycina (Yellow), and Strobilanthes viscosa (White).
Nelu Flower (Strobilanthes species)
It belongs to the Acanthaceae family and is native to Sri Lanka, India and other Asian countries. This genus includes about 450 species worldwide, and Sri Lanka has about 33 species, of which nearly 30 are endemic to the island.
The most striking difference in these flowers lies in their life cycle. These plants are monocarpic, meaning they only bloom once before dying. Many species bloom every 12- 14 years. They spend years building up energy before flowering. After flowering and seed production, the entire plant dies, and the seeds remain dormant in the soil until the next cycle. You can refer to more reports regarding this here, here, and here.
Nelu species are facing conservation problems, with one species (Strobilanthes caudata) already extinct. They are legally protected under Sri Lankan Law, including the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance, the Forest Conservation Ordinance, and the National Environment Act.
These flowers are mainly found in the central highlands, especially in the Horton Plains National Park and wet zones, at higher elevations. Some species are also found in the dry zone.
The 2025 Nelu flower bloom provided a rare opportunity to observe this unique phenomenon, occurring approximately 12 years after the previous major bloom in 2013. The Nelu Flower bloom will happen in 2037. Local and foreign tourists came in large numbers to witness this rare event. You can view those from here, here, and here.
Join us to learn more about our investigative fact findings.
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Google News | TikTok | Youtube
Conclusion :
Our investigation shows that the viral video, which is referred to as the Nelu Flower, is not a local video but rather a compilation of clips of the azalea flower, a member of the Rhododendron plant family, blooming on Ningbo Jin’e Mountain, a mountain in Ningbo, China.
Title:A misleading video purporting to be a video of Nelu Flower Blooming in Sri Lanka!
Fact Check By: Fact Crescendo TeamResult: Misleading
