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.
96 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
Kodo MilletकोदोPaspalum scrobiculatumThe kodo of the Deccan and central hills — drought-proof and long-storing.RiceधानOryza sativaHalf the country’s calories — and a bucket of it on a terrace teaches more than any book.
Malabar TamarindकुडमपुलीGarcinia gummi-guttaThe souring fruit of Kerala fish curry, dried black and kept all year.Malabar Plumजामुन कोकमSyzygium caryophyllatumA small-fruited endemic jamun of the southern hills, cropping through the monsoon.Wild JackआयनीArtocarpus hirsutusThe wild jack of Malabar — timber for boats and fruit for the monkeys.Rose Appleगुलाब जामुनSyzygium jambosPale crisp fruit that smells of rose water, on a small spreading evergreen.TaroअरबीColocasia esculentaBig heart leaves on a wet corner; the corm below and the leaf above both go to the…Lasodaलसोड़ाCordia myxaSticky green fruit for the Rajasthani pickle jar, on a tough small tree.KokumकोकमGarcinia indicaA slender Western Ghats evergreen with purple fruit that souring curries depend on.Wild Date PalmखजूरPhoenix sylvestrisThe sap palm of Bengal and the Deccan, tapped in winter for nolen gur.
Indian Water FernअजोलाAzolla pinnataA floating fern that fixes nitrogen — fertiliser and fodder that grows itself.Kokum Butter TreeकोकमGarcinia gummi-guttaMalabar tamarind — the sour rind of Konkan and Kerala cooking.
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.
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