Tiny flowers of pink, yellow and purple emerge against the backdrop of the bright green thickets of shrub in the Bandipur National Park on Mysore-Ooty Road. But the flowering shrub that hosts them is Lantana camara, one of the most invasive of plants that has taken over the country’s forests, driving wild animals out for foraging. In the Bandipur National Park, an estimated 60% is affected by Lantana, which hinders the growth of native vegetation that herbivores such as deer and elephants feed on. Further, its fruit is toxic to animals....................Read more

Source: The Hindu