Tiny Western Ghats forests store water, shelter 200 butterfly species

Myristica swamps, rare freshwater forests in the Western Ghats, store water, recharge groundwater and keep streams flowing. Some are smaller than a playground. Myristica swamps occupy only about 0.004% of Kerala's land area, as per the Kerala Forest Department. A study in Shendurney recorded 206 butterfly species, including 19 endemic to the Western Ghats.