Mangaluru: As many as 987 sacred thickets known as Nagabanas has been identified in Dakshina Kannada by a team of experts of Dr. Shivaram Karanth Pilikula Nisargadhama.
The team after conducting a study on the biodiversity of these spots sent the report to Karnataka Biodiversity Board.
As per the report, out of 987 banas 333 of these Banas exist in government land and 654 in private land. They are housed in different sized plots from five cents to five acres. Around 24 of these Banas were chosen for the study. In Banas which are completely covered by plants and trees, 289 different spices of plant life have been identified with 119 trees, 67 shrubs, 46 vines, 51 groves, three orchids, and four other various plants.
Six varieties of vegetation, Calophyllum elatum, Garcinia indica, Hydnocarpus pentandrus, Myristica malabarica, Okrinoklia missionis, and Saraca asoca, which are on the verge of extinction, as well as two other varieties that are facing a serious threat of extinction, have been documented.
