Regions: Central India

Bare branches and orange claws of flower in February — the tree that announces Holi.

Fat red flowers on a bare grey trunk, then pods of cotton that blow down every street.

A wild relative of the curry leaf from peninsular scrub forest.

A big orange-flowered climber of central forest, dramatic on a strong pergola.

A leafless thorny desert shrub with scarlet flowers and pickling berries.

Lasoda — sticky green fruit pickled across Rajasthan and Gujarat.

The mehndi hedge of the dry west — scented flowers and dye leaves.

A thorny southern climber whose pods have washed hair for centuries.

Khus — a grass whose roots hold a slope together and scent a summer room.

The silver-plumed grass of autumn riverbanks — Durga Puja in plant form.