Regions: north-east

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

Timur — the numbing hill pepper of the eastern Himalaya, on a thorny shrub.

A north-eastern hill fruit, sour and used for pickle and jam.

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

The tea of the Brahmaputra valley — one bush on a balcony is enough for a pot.

Black cardamom of Sikkim — deep shade under alder, at hill altitudes.

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

A creeping mat for the wet edge of a terrace pond or a bowl garden.

Yongchak — long flat pods eaten across Manipur and Nagaland.

East Indian lemongrass, distilled in the north-east for citral oil.