“Flower of Hope and Love”: the red ruta has blossomed in the Carpathians (PHOTOS)

The old Ukrainian legend tells about a flower, which blooms in red only once in ten years. At the foot of the highest Ukrainian mountain of Hoverla, the red ruta, or the East-Carpathian rhododendron, has blossomed for the second time this year.

 TV Channel 5 writes in Facebook: "You must see it! The rhododendron is abundantly blooming on the Hoverla, " – the post reads. The Director of the Rakhiv Forest Research Enterprise Volodymyr Prystupa explains: "Here we see the East-Carpathian rhododendron – the red ruta, very rare. There are not only pink flowers, but also white ones that look like albinos. For highlanders, it is a special plant, it is loved and honored, sung about in folk lore. The old Ukrainian legend tells about a flower, which blooms in red only once in ten years. And if a girl finds a flower and gives it to a young man, he will always love her and never cheat on her".

The Carpathian rhododendron grows only on the highest mountain ranges and it is a big luck to see the peak of its bloom. You can see the flowering of the rhododendron, on the mountain slopes of the Chornohora, Marmarosh and Svydovets ridges. "The love flower is now blooming at the foot of the Hoverla. So hurry up to see the bright red carpets of this amazing alpine plant", – local residents call tourists.

To note:

The red uta is the name of a mountain flower growing in the highlands of the Ukrainian Carpathians. According to the ancient Hutsul legends, the red ruta is rhododendron. It is a low-growing evergreen bush, which in June blooms in bright red in high mountain valleys. The name rhododendron comes from two Greek words – rhodos – rose and dendron – tree (rose tree).