Flora and Fauna

Animals

A few exotic creatures like Giant Malabar Squirrel are frequented at Blackberry Hills. Especially, during the season of Jackfruits, you are sure to meet one or two pairs of these beautiful creatures. Rabbits and wild boar are also seen. Please don't be surprised if you happen to see a barking deer.

Trees

Jambolan: Most of the evergreen trees you find around your cottage are called jambolan (Syzygium cumini skeels). It is also called Indian Blackberry. These fruit-bearing trees are very common in all villages of Kerala. Fruits appear in clusters of 10 to 15 and are purple in colour. It is excellent for making sherbet.
Flowers of jambolan have abundant nectar and are of real value for apiculture. Leaves can be distilled to make an essential oil used to scent soaps. Seeds of Jambolan can reduce blood sugar. Different parts of the tree are used in multiple folk medicines to treat diseases including diarrhoea.

Jack Fruit Tree: Every household of Kerala have a jack fruit tree in its backyard bearing giant sweet fruits every year.
A few of these trees are there in bio diversity conservation area of the estate. Green leaves of jack fruit tree turn to golden yellow before falling and it is used for taking Kanji (rice cooked with a lot of water) by Keralites from ancient times.

Rose Wood: Rose wood is the most desired wood for making furniture  in Kerala. These giant trees look distinctive with its abundant small leaves. Blackberry Estate does have a few of these trees.

Cinnamon: A number of cinnamon trees are there in Blackberry Estate. Skin pealed out of its stem is an important spice. Meat preparations of Kerala are incomplete without cinnamon peal.

Ferns: About twelve varieties of ferns are found in Pallivasal basin. Most of them naturally grow in Blackberry Estate also. We have a plan to introduce a good collection of ferns at Blackberry Estate.

Agave Sisal: Sisal was brought to Munnar by its colonial admirers. It was tested as a plantation crop before tea. Many of it grow freely on the beautiful rocks of Blackberry Estate. In ancient days, it was used to make ropes of ships and at present its strong fiber is used to make carpets.

Castor: castor plants grow freely in Blackberry Estate, seeds of which are used to make castor oil. Get your kid amazed by its seed which looks exactly like a bug.

Passion Fruit: This fast growing climber declaring its presence almost everywhere in Blackberry Estate is Passiflora-popularly known as Passion Fruit-a wild fruit bearing plant with white/ purple coloured flowers and spherical fruits. The pulp inside is very sweet and can be used as juice or jam or you simply cut one side and take the pulp inside using a spoon. The homoeo medicine Passiflora is prepared from the plant which is used to treat symptoms like hypertension. If in an unlikely event you remain tensed at Blackberry Hills, eat a Passion Fruit. Even otherwise you may ....!

Spices: In addition to cardamom, we have Pepper, Coffee, Cinnamon, Clove etc. in Blackberry Estate. We have adopted strict organic methods in agriculture.