ABSTRACT
The Western Ghats are a long chain of unbroken mountain ranges along the west coast of Indian Peninsula which covers rich vegetation with varied ecosystems. The recent account on the Flora of Western Ghats enumerated a total of 8080 taxa with 7402 species, 117 subspecies, and 476 varieties of seed plants in the area. Of these 376 are naturalized or introduced species, about 1438 species are cultivated or planted as ornamentals. Of a total of 5588 indigenous species, 2253 species are confined to India, from which 1273 species are exclusively restricted to the Western Ghats. A total account of Gymnosperms in the Western Ghats showed 9 families with 24 genera and 62 species. Among them C. circinalis, C. annaikalensis, C. swamyi, Gnetum ula (Gnetales), and Nageia wallichiana (Coniferales) are native Gymnosperms of Western Ghats range. This chapter reveals the floristic account, endemism, rarity, and conservation measures of spermatophytes of Western Ghats.
