HIMALAYAS IN PINK

The Lower Himalayas from Sikkim till Uttrakhand are covered in a cloak of Pink  immediately after the lofty mountains are  touched by the first drizzle brought forth by the Monsoons.

The   Pink Rain Lily , Storm Lily , Rose Fairy Lily (English) , Zephyranthes rosea ( scientific name) bloom into vast stretches of Pink as the first rain drops touch the topsoil of The Himalayas.

The following picture  of a hillside covered with Pink flowers was taken in Kalimpong, West Bengal, India.

Pink Himalayas

A close cousin the Zephyranthes candida  ( also called Rain Lily in English ) was seen by me in Pune and extensively covered in a previous blog titled “SIX POINTED STAR”. The dexterous labeling by the Gardners of The Corinithian Resort & Club, Pune   helped me discover the botanical name of these Pink Lilies.

However besides the difference in colour the Pink Rain Lilies on the Himalayas you see in the pictures here were growing in the wild in free abandon and in vast numbers carpeting the Hills in Pink.

Pink Rain Lilies in SunLight

The Pink Rain Lily like their close cousin The Six Pointed Star belongs to the Amarylis Lily family Amaryllidaceae.

These Beautiful Pink Flowers however hide a deep and dark secret in their bulbs which are hidden in the soil from which they spring forth as they contain deadly toxic alkaloids.

The alkaloids  lycorine and  haemanthamine  present in the bulbs can cause severe vomiting and convulsions and even lead to death .

Speckled Leaves, Fallen Flowers and Lilies in Pink

If you read earlier blogs you will realize that many deadly toxins exist in their natural Form in Plants, yet these very toxins when used by professionals are converted into medicines and cure many ailments which affect us Humans.

After over a year of blogging and learning I am increasingly Enchanted by the numerous forms and ways of Wonderful Nature.