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Grihvatika Knowledge Centre

Goals: Herbs & healing

Assam Lemon (कागजी नेमु), Citrus limon var.
Baheda

The third triphala fruit, from a broad-crowned tree of dry deciduous forest.

Foxtail Orchid (द्रौपदी माला), Rhynchostylis retusa
Shatavar Vine

A white-rooted asparagus of the north-western hills, grown on terraces and bunds.

Foxtail Orchid (द्रौपदी माला), Rhynchostylis retusa
Guggul

A thorny desert shrub whose resin has been traded for millennia; now endangered.

Resurrection Fern (संजीवनी), Selaginella bryopteris
Safed Musli

A monsoon-flowering lily of the western hills, grown for its white tuber cluster.

Resurrection Fern (संजीवनी), Selaginella bryopteris
Ratanjot

A dry-hill root used to colour oil a deep red; slight above ground, tough below.

Resurrection Fern (संजीवनी), Selaginella bryopteris
Indian Aloe

Near-indestructible succulent for a bright sill; water only when the soil is dry through.

Foxtail Orchid (द्रौपदी माला), Rhynchostylis retusa
Kantakari

A prickly low solanum of wasteland, with violet flowers bumblebees buzz-pollinate.

Tree Tomato (तमरिल्लो), Solanum betaceum
Makoy

The black nightshade of monsoon fields — a leafy green in the east, a weed elsewhere.

Resurrection Fern (संजीवनी), Selaginella bryopteris
Bhumi Amla

A tiny monsoon herb that appears in every wet pot, with fruit strung under the leaf.

Resurrection Fern (संजीवनी), Selaginella bryopteris
Chirata

An intensely bitter Himalayan herb of mid-altitude meadows, slow and particular.