MATERIALS AND METHODS

The work was carried out in the Uttara Kannada district (740 9’ to 750 10’ E and 130 55’ to 150 31’ N) towards the northern coast of Karnataka State, South India (Figure 1). In Uttara Kannada, the Western Ghats are at their lowest elevations, not exceeding 600 m in most places with an occasional peak rising to 700 or 800 m from msl. The mountainous terrain come closest to the Arabian Sea in this district, where towards the north-west, in the Karwar-Ankola taluks, the promontories of the ghats even enter into the Arabian Sea. From Ankola taluk in the north through Kumta, Honavar to Bhatkal taluk in the south, these spectacular coastal formations of flattened table lands and gently rising low hills of laterite, were sampled in 12 localities (Table1). All the study sites were below 100 m altitude, some bordering the sea shore the other within few km eastwards into the hinterlands. Although there is sparse growth of woody, perennial plants, both shrubs and dwarf trees, which are of commoner kind, our studies were mainly focused on the herbal flora of the rainy season.

Figure 1: Localities of laterite flora studies (depicted on Google imagery in reddish hue)

Table 1: Study localities in coastal Uttara Kannada