Kerala's plant biodiversity faces a severe threat from 89 alien invasive species, which were recorded in a survey commissioned by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board.

Of these, 19 present a high risk; many were found displacing and destroying a large number of native species, causing environmental and economic loss. Around 40 per cent of the varieties belonging to Brazil, Trinidad, Costa Rica, Chile, and Mexico were believed to have reached the State mostly through timber and food grain imports,