Skip to content
Home /Explore Plants
Plant library

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.

Share this page

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.

Resurrection Fern (संजीवनी), Selaginella bryopterisVanillaवनीलाVanilla planifoliaA climbing orchid that must be hand-pollinated flower by flower, at dawn.Resurrection Fern (संजीवनी), Selaginella bryopterisBlack Pepper Vineकाली मिर्चPiper nigrumThe vine that made the Malabar coast; needs a tree to climb and constant humidity.Resurrection Fern (संजीवनी), Selaginella bryopterisGiant Taroमान कचुAlocasia macrorrhizosEnormous upright leaves for a wet shaded corner — architecture rather than a crop.Foxtail Orchid (द्रौपदी माला), Rhynchostylis retusaChinese Hibiscusगुड़हलHibiscus rosa-sinensisFlowers nearly all year in a warm city, and sunbirds find it within a week.Resurrection Fern (संजीवनी), Selaginella bryopterisBlack Pepperकाली मिर्चPiper nigrumThe vine that made the Malabar coast; needs a tree to climb and constant humidity.Assam Lemon (कागजी नेमु), Citrus limon var.CinnamonदालचीनीCinnamomum verumCoppiced for its inner bark; the leaf is a spice in its own right.Foxtail Orchid (द्रौपदी माला), Rhynchostylis retusaKaffir Limeकागज़ी नीम्बूCitrus hystrixDouble-lobed aromatic leaves used across the north-east and the far south.Assam Lemon (कागजी नेमु), Citrus limon var.Bilimbiबिलिम्बीAverrhoa bilimbiSour fruit straight off the trunk, in constant supply on the wet coasts.Assam Lemon (कागजी नेमु), Citrus limon var.Star FruitकमरखAverrhoa carambolaRibbed yellow fruit several times a year on a compact tree.Foxtail Orchid (द्रौपदी माला), Rhynchostylis retusaFirecracker FlowerअबोलीCrossandra infundibuliformisThe abolí of southern flower markets — orange fans, picked daily.Assam Lemon (कागजी नेमु), Citrus limon var.PapayaपपीताCarica papayaFruit inside a year from seed — the fastest fruit a household can grow.Assam Lemon (कागजी नेमु), Citrus limon var.BananaकेलाMusa acuminataA single sucker in a corner gives shade, cooking leaves and, in time, fruit.Foxtail Orchid (द्रौपदी माला), Rhynchostylis retusaFrangipani WhiteगुलचीनPlumeria albaThe white frangipani of temple gardens, tougher than the pink and just as scented.Foxtail Orchid (द्रौपदी माला), Rhynchostylis retusaIxoraरुग्मिनीIxora coccineaCompact evergreen with flower heads butterflies work all morning.Foxtail Orchid (द्रौपदी माला), Rhynchostylis retusaVincaसदाबहारCatharanthus roseusFlowers every day of the year and asks for nothing. Indigenous to the deccan.Foxtail Orchid (द्रौपदी माला), Rhynchostylis retusaHibiscusगुड़हलHibiscus rosa-sinensisFlowers nearly all year in a warm city, and sunbirds find it within a week.

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.

Use the plant finder

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.