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.
30 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.Filters3 on
Tree Tomatoतमरिल्लोSolanum betaceumEgg-shaped tart fruit on a soft-wooded small tree of the eastern hills.Chow Chowइस्कुसSechium eduleThe squash that covers a whole roof in one season across the eastern hills.
Khasi Mandarinखासी संतराCitrus reticulataThe loose-skinned orange of the Khasi and Jaintia hills, ripe in December.Job’s TearsगुरलुCoix lacryma-jobiHard glossy grain used as food, as beads and as a brewing grain in the hills.Proso MilletचीनाPanicum miliaceumA short-season millet of the northern hills, sown when the season has been lost.
Large Cardamomबड़ी इलायचीAmomum subulatumThe smoked black cardamom of Sikkim, grown under alder shade.Sacred Lotus Stemकमल ककड़ीNelumbo nucifera (rhizome)The same lotus, grown in deep mud for the crisp rhizome of the Kashmiri kitchen.Wild Mangoवन आमMangifera sylvaticaThe forest ancestor of the orchard mango, still fruiting in eastern hill forest.Wild ApricotचुलीPrunus armeniacaThe chuli of Ladakh and Kinnaur — blossom in April, fruit and kernel oil by July.Bay Leaf Treeतेजपत्ताCinnamomum tamalaThe tejpatta of the sub-Himalayan tract — three-veined leaves, straight off the tree.PerillaसिलमPerilla frutescensSesame-like seeds used across the eastern Himalaya in chutney and oil.
Sichuan PepperतिमूरZanthoxylum armatumTimur — the numbing hill pepper of the eastern Himalaya, on a thorny shrub.Wild AppleबनसेबDocynia indicaA north-eastern hill fruit, sour and used for pickle and jam.CheuraचिउराAesandra butyraceaThe Himalayan butter tree, giving cooking fat and an enormous honey flow.Bamboo Shoot Speciesबांस करीलDendrocalamus hamiltoniiThe north-eastern shoot bamboo — fermented shoots are a regional staple.Assam TeaचायCamellia sinensis var. assamicaThe tea of the Brahmaputra valley — one bush on a balcony is enough for a pot.
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