Regions: Himalaya & the hills

Quick winter roots for the plains, and greens while you wait.

One of the three fruits of triphala; a large deciduous tree of the sub-Himalayan tract.

A white-rooted asparagus of the north-western hills, grown on terraces and bunds.

A dry-hill root used to colour oil a deep red; slight above ground, tough below.

An intensely bitter Himalayan herb of mid-altitude meadows, slow and particular.

The lichen of the spice box — not planted, but a reason to keep old trees standing.

A hill herb of stream banks with aromatic roots and heads of small white flowers.

A high-altitude Himalayan herb — only worth trying in the hills, and only from nursery stock.

The spikenard of the high Himalaya, aromatic-rooted and strictly a mountain plant.

A marginal water plant for a tub, aromatic-rooted and steady for years.