Regions: North-East India

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.

A scrambling hill plant whose root gives a lasting red dye.

Reetha — the washing fruit of the sub-Himalayan tract, from a good shade tree.

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

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

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.