Explore Plants
Indian plants documented for the way people actually garden — filter by what you want the plant to do, the space you have, the month you can sow and the region you are in. The result count below is live.
Use the filters on the plant archive to narrow by goal, growing space and season. Every record carries a Hindi name, a botanical name, a care note and the months in which to sow.
23 plants match your filters Answer three questions on the home page — your region, your space and your goal — and we will name two plants to sow this month.Filters2 on
Ceylon Ironwoodपुन्नागMesua thwaitesiiA tall wet-evergreen tree of the southern Ghats, red-flushed in new leaf.
Chinese Hibiscusगुड़हलHibiscus rosa-sinensisFlowers nearly all year in a warm city, and sunbirds find it within a week.Copper Podपीला गुलमोहरPeltophorum pterocarpumYellow flower spires and copper seed pods; the summer partner to the gulmohar.IronwoodनागकेसरMesua ferreaGlossy drooping new leaves in pink, then white flowers with a gold centre.Rain Treeविलायती सिरसAlbizia samanAn enormous umbrella crown of ferny leaves that folds shut before rain.Palmyra Palmताड़Borassus flabelliferTamil Nadu’s state tree — sap, fruit, leaf and timber from one palm.Toddy Palm FishtailमारीCaryota urensFishtail palm of the Ghats and the north-east, tapped for sap and sago.RattanबेंतCalamus tenuisThe cane of eastern furniture — a spiny climbing palm of wet forest.Wild Bananaजंगली केलाMusa balbisianaThe wild banana of the north-east — seedy fruit, but flowers and stem are food.Mangrove AppleकीराSonneratia caseolarisA Sundarbans mangrove with night flowers that bats pollinate.Grey MangroveअवीसीनियाAvicennia marinaThe pioneer mangrove of Indian coasts, first to colonise new mud.SundariसुंदरीHeritiera fomesThe tree the Sundarbans is named for, now under pressure from rising salinity.Nipa PalmगोलपाताNypa fruticansA creeping tidal palm of eastern deltas, roofing houses and sweetening sap.Screw Pine CoastalकेतकीPandanus tectoriusA stilt-rooted coastal pandan that holds sand against the sea.CasuarinaसरूCasuarina equisetifoliaThe coastal shelterbelt tree of the east and south — fast and salt-proof.Indian AlmondबादामTerminalia catappaTiered branches and huge leaves that turn red before falling — a coastal shade tree.
Not sure where to start?
How the library is organised