242 



Aroids, and Ferns. In North Kanara where the evergreen 

 tropical Kans ( a local name for evergreen forests) are contiguous 

 to, or surrounded by, mixed deciduous forest the divergence 

 between the classes of vegetation is very striking. There is 

 considerable physical relief in passing abruptly from the strong 

 glaring sunlight of the open deciduous jungle in the hot season 

 to the cooler atmosphere and deep, somewhat gloomy, shade 

 of the lofty evergreens. The bewildering diversity, height and 

 size of the trees, the universal green and general absence of 

 colour, the great climbers with fantastic shaped stems, the 

 epiphytic orchids, aroids, and ferns, the general stillness and 

 apparent absence of animal life, appeal to the naturalist, who 

 is satisfied that here at least the action of man has not affected 

 and changed the original flora of these truly primeval forests. 

 The principal forces of nature are in constant action, and there 

 is no annual period of rest, corresponding to the winter in tem- 

 perate and arctic regions or the hot seasons in the dry tropics. 

 On the shady, moist, well-covered soil, the growth is continuous, 

 and the struggle for existence amongst the many species in the 

 zones of vegetation is very great. The principal causes prevent- 

 ing the predominance of any one genus or species over more than 

 a limited area are to be found in the very favourable conditions 

 in which this strongly differentiated and extremely rich flora 

 is placed. * 



It is very difficult to correctly identify on the spot many 

 of the high trees growing in the Kans. The rapid and conti- 

 nuous growth produces generally a thin, smooth, greyish 

 bark with scarcely any rhytidome. The great height of many 

 of the stems prevents examination of their foliage, the 

 flowers are also often inconspicuous and appear at different 

 seasons of the year. These, together with the diversity 

 of the species, make a satisfactory interpretation of the flora 

 almost impossible. In the smaller, less varied and more open 

 deciduous forests such examination is not attended with similar 

 difficulties. It is of common occurrence to see a tall tree in full 

 bloom in the evergreens and to be unable to procure specimens 

 of the flowers, except by felling or sending up a native climber, 

 both usually very tedious operations. Much of the evergreen 

 region of North Kanara is somewhat difficult of access, as the 

 dense undergrowth often bars the way of the observer. The 

 forest pathways are also usually bounded by monotonous walls 

 of verdure, without the relieving colour of conspicuous flowers. ' ' * 



* The Distribution of the Forest Flora of the Bombay Presidency and Sind by 

 W. A. Talbot. Indian Forester, Vol. XXXII, pp. 5658. 



