Regions: East India

Singhara — a floating annual grown in ponds and tanks across the north and east.

Bihar’s pond crop — prickly floating leaves and the popped seed of fasting food.

A floating fern that fixes nitrogen — fertiliser and fodder that grows itself.

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.

The ghost chilli of Nagaland — a genuine regional speciality, and ferocious.

Sesame-like seeds used across the eastern Himalaya in chutney and oil.

The north-eastern shoot bamboo — fermented shoots are a regional staple.

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

Sweet basil — indigenous cultivation across India long before its pizza career.