the Western Ghats, which bear the brunt of the monsoon rains, are blessed with an almost unbroken stretch of evergreen forest cover from the southern extremity of India up to the hills of Goa. The forests further north are smaller and gradually lose their evergreen character and become deciduous. In Maharashtra, for instance, evergreen forests are encountered in the Ghats only as small pockets in protected sites, and mostly as sacred groves.

This change is linked to climatic conditions. The Ghats experience a dry season, the duration of which increases progressively northwards. In Kerala, the dry season is very short