Plant library
Explore Plants
Filter by what you want to grow, the space you have and the season you are in.
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Proso MilletचीनाPanicum miliaceumA short-season millet of the northern hills, sown when the season has been lost.RiceधानOryza sativaHalf the country’s calories — and a bucket of it on a terrace teaches more than any book.TaroअरबीColocasia esculentaBig heart leaves on a wet corner; the corm below and the leaf above both go to the…Water Spinachकलमी सागIpomoea aquaticaGrows on water or wet mud and crops every fortnight through the monsoon.Water Cressजलकुंभी सागNasturtium officinaleA peppery salad green for a shady tray of running or frequently changed water.Sacred Lotus Stemकमल ककड़ीNelumbo nucifera (rhizome)The same lotus, grown in deep mud for the crisp rhizome of the Kashmiri kitchen.
Lasodaलसोड़ाCordia myxaSticky green fruit for the Rajasthani pickle jar, on a tough small tree.
Water Chestnutसिंघाड़ाTrapa natansSinghara — a floating annual grown in ponds and tanks across the north and east.
MakhanaमखानाEuryale feroxBihar’s pond crop — prickly floating leaves and the popped seed of fasting food.Indian Water FernअजोलाAzolla pinnataA floating fern that fixes nitrogen — fertiliser and fodder that grows itself.CheuraचिउराAesandra butyraceaThe Himalayan butter tree, giving cooking fat and an enormous honey flow.
Ram Tulsiराम तुलसीOcimum basilicumSweet basil — indigenous cultivation across India long before its pizza career.Sabjaसब्जाOcimum basilicum (seed type)Grown for the seed that swells in falooda and summer sherbets.KachriकाचरीCucumis callosusA wild desert melon of Rajasthan, dried and powdered as a souring agent.SangriसांगरीProsopis cineraria (pods)The pod of the khejri — the vegetable that carries the Thar through summer.KerकेरCapparis deciduaA leafless thorny desert shrub with scarlet flowers and pickling berries.Not sure where to start?
Answer three questions on the home page — your region, your space and your goal — and we will name two plants to sow this month.
How the library is organised
By regionEach entry notes where the plant grows well across India, from the Gangetic plain to coastal soils.
By seasonSowing windows for every month, so you never plant a winter green in May.
By spaceWindowsill, balcony, terrace or ground — filtered so you only see what will survive with you.
Checked by a botanistNames and facts are reviewed before publication; traditional uses are labelled as traditional.