Rare Kodappana blooms in Idukki keep tourists riveted

Discover the unique Kodappana trees of Panamkutty village, a stunning spectacle along the Adimaly-Kumily National Highway in Idukki.

With its rare Kodappana trees in full bloom, Panamkutty, a quaint village along the Adimaly-Kumily National Highway in Idukki has been offering tourists a stunning spectacle. Hundreds of visitors on their way to the Munnar hill station stop and marvel at these unique roadside blooms. Local people say that the village’s name, Panamkutty, is derived from the abundance of Kodappana trees in the area, which have influenced local life. Early settlers used the huge leaves to thatch their homes, and the seeds were a food source.

One intriguing aspect of the Kodappana plant is its natural propagation. The seeds are spread by wild animals who eat the fruit and scatter the seeds, allowing new plants to grow spontaneously. “These plants flower, set seed, and then die, completing their life cycle. This palm has the largest inflorescence in the world with more than two crores of small flowers,” says Jomy Augustine, a botany professor and plant diversity expert at Mahatma Gandhi University.

“The species name umbraculifera alludes to its distinctive, umbrella-like leaves. Kodappana is monocarpic, which means it flowers only once, generally after 40 to 90 years, and can grow about 100 feet tall. The fan-shaped leaves are so large that a single one could shelter up to 20 people in the rain,” he says.

Dr. Augustine further notes that a single Kodappana palm can yield over 200 kg of fruit, which serves as an important food source for local wildlife, including birds, bats, porcupines, civets, squirrels, boars, deer, and sambar.

The Kodappana tree’s thick, unbranched trunk is a rich source of starch. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, communities relied on this starch as a dietary staple, especially in times of need. “Traditionally, people harvested the starch before the trees flowered, which may have contributed to the tree’s scarcity in inhabited areas,” explains Dr. Augustine. Umbrella palms, belonging to the genus Corypha, are native to India, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Australia. The talipot palm, or Corypha umbraculifera, is native to India and Sri Lanka, with its presence also recorded in Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Mauritius.

While these palms are still found in the wild, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the species as Data Deficient (DD) due to a lack of studies on its population status. Many place names in Kerala, such as Panamkutty, Kattappana, and Kudappanakkunnu, reflect the once widespread presence of the Kodappana palm, underscoring the plant’s lasting cultural and ecological significance in the region.