Regions: Islands & the coast

A dark-stemmed shrub of the wet coasts with traditional joint-pain uses.

An enormous umbrella crown of ferny leaves that folds shut before rain.

Malabar tamarind — the sour rind of Konkan and Kerala cooking.

The coastal shelterbelt tree of the east and south — fast and salt-proof.

Tamil Nadu’s state tree — sap, fruit, leaf and timber from one palm.

Fishtail palm of the Ghats and the north-east, tapped for sap and sago.

The cane of eastern furniture — a spiny climbing palm of wet forest.

The wild banana of the north-east — seedy fruit, but flowers and stem are food.

A Sundarbans mangrove with night flowers that bats pollinate.

The pioneer mangrove of Indian coasts, first to colonise new mud.