Goals: Herbs & healing

The sanjeevani of the rocks — curls up bone dry, then greens again in an hour of rain.

Fan-shaped leaflets on black wiry stalks — the fern of a shaded bathroom window.

Flame-red reflexed petals on a climbing lily — the state flower of Tamil Nadu.

The palmarosa of the Deccan, distilled for a rose-scented oil.

The world’s most stubborn weed, and an aromatic tuber used for centuries.

Twisted screw-shaped pods on a scrub shrub of the dry deciduous forest.

The southern vasaka — a shade-tolerant shrub with white hooded flowers.

The scented heartwood tree of the southern Deccan — a hemiparasite that needs a host.

White flowers with orange tubes that open at night and are on the ground by dawn.

A thorny yellow-wooded Himalayan shrub with blue berries and traditional root use.