 The Knuckles range face a different threat.Cultivation of spices especially cardamom at large scale threatens clearing of the forest.Invasive exotic plant species such as Mist Flower ("Ageratina riparia"), Purple Plague ("Miconia calvescens"), Blue Star ("Aristea ecklonii") and Coster's Curse ("Clidemia hirta") that increasingly spread into otherwise well protected mountain forest areas and crowd away the native Sri Lankan flora are a major threat, if not the largest one, to Sri Lankan montane rain forest flora and fauna.