Flowering plants of Rajiv Gandhi (Nagarahole) National Park, Karnataka, India

Abstract

The Rajiv Gandhi National Park encompasses a rich biodiversity of both flora and fauna and is regarded as one of the richest protected areas in Asia. It is a part of Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and covers foot-hills of the Brahmagiri hill ranges in the Western Ghats, which is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots and epicenter of Indian endemics harbouring species-rich-habitats and supporting a high biodiversity. This is evident in its flowering plants diversity brought to focus during the present study. The National Park spreads over an area of 643.39 km2, harbours 1337 species, 14 subspecies and 34 varieties of Angiosperms distributed over 754 genera and 152 families. Notably 110 species of these are endemic. A complete inventory of all the recorded species is provided here.