Shola

[2] Shola forests are found in the higher elevation hill regions of the Nilgiris, Anaimalai, around Anamudi, Palni hills, Meghamalai, Agasthyamalai to the south and the Malnad and associated ranges in parts of Wayanad, Coorg, Baba Budangiri, Kudremukh up the north, to Goa, Satara district and Sindhudurg district in the states of Karnataka, Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

Some early researchers suggested that the floristic composition represents a stable final state or climax vegetation.

Pollen analysis from bogs in the Nilgiris suggest that the complex of grassland and forest existed 35,000 years ago, long before human impact began.

[6][7][8] Due to their isolation, elevation, and evergreen character, shola forests are home to many threatened and endemic species.

[citation needed] Some of the species found here have close relatives only in the distant evergreen forests of Northeast India, the Himalayas and Southeast Asia.

Shola forests have an upper storey of small trees, generally Prunus ceylanica, Heptapleurum racemosum, Chionanthus ramiflorus, Syzygium spp., Rhododendron arboreum subsp.

nilagiricum, Berberis napaulensis, Elaeocarpus recurvatus, Ilex denticulata, Magnolia nilagirica, Actinodaphne bourdillonii, and Litsea wightiana.

[11] Periodic fires have been considered to help maintain the grassland, however, excessive burning has led to a shrinkage of forest patches and the growth of invasive species.