The state is one of the highly biodiverse regions of India as it is endowed with great diversity of climate, topography and soils. It spans the seacoast with rich aquatic bed and mangrove swamps at the mouth of estuaries. It harbours verdant tropical evergreen forests, paddy fields, coconut and arecanut plantations on the narrow coast flanked by the Western Ghats. The latter is known to have more diversity of wild relatives of cultivated plants than any other region of comparable size in the world. The aquatic biodiversity is also very rich with many endemic species. The state has around 4,500 species of flowering plants and the Karnataka State Medicinal Plant Board is concerned with medicinal plant cultivation under the aegis of the state forest department.

1. Karnataka Forest Department, Bellur, Dharwad, Madikeri
2. CIMAP Resource Centre, Allasandra, Bangalore
3. University of Agricultural Sciences, G.K.V.K. Campus, Bangalore
4. Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore
5. Karnataka Medicinal Plant Authority, Bangalore
6. Bayir Groups, Bangalore
7. Hill Green (Extracts), Bangalore
8. Sami Labs Ltd., Bangalore
9. Natural Remedies (P) Ltd., Bangalore
10. Southern Regional Center (TERI), Bangalore